The Enemy of my Enemy
by VioletOakCypress
Summary: Before Spencer Reid joined the FBI, he was a covert agent in the CIA. With his youth and genius at his disposal, he was successful and on his way to become a master spy but then the ultimate betrayal made him want out. Six years he had kept his life a secret from everyone until one day when it all caught back up with him.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a prompt that was requested. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

A procession of limousines, town cars, and luxury vehicles lined their way down the mile long driveway to the entrance of the well-guarded estate. Twenty men wearing red vests were quickly assisting guests from their vehicles and parking the cars of those who drove. The security guards were all in tuxedos standing ten feet apart from each other surrounding the decadent mansion.

A brand new Porsche 911 pulled up to the entrance. A young man put his polished Salvatore Ferragmo shoe onto the ground then stepped out of his silver car. The valet attendant rushed up to him. "Hello, Sir." He stood holding the door open for him.

"Thank you." The young man lightly brushed his fingers through his perfectly styled hair. "I won't be staying long, please don't park in the back." He was the epitome of suave, debonair, and charming.

The valet leaned in closer. "Your target is inside already. Good luck, Reid."

Reid shook the valet's hand and slipped him a Benjamin. He then started toward the entrance wearing an expensive, tailored tuxedo. He nodded to the guard who opened the door for him.

A women wearing a long sparkly, peach gown stood holding a portfolio. "Good evening, sir. May I please see your invitation?" She took the card from his hand and checked her list. "Thank you, Mr. Du Pont. Please be sure to enjoy yourself." She smiled at him and held out her hand to allow him entrance into the gala.

Some of the wealthiest people in the world were in this room. Heads of state, military, dignitaries, as well as some of the more elusive and most wanted. Reid picked up a champagne cocktail from the server and walked around the ballroom looking for his partner.

"Aren't you still too young to drink?" A woman's voice said softly behind him.

"Technically, yes. But here, I am Lucas Du Pont, son of a billionaire and able to do whatever I want." He turned to face his partner. "It isn't like you are that much older than me, Alex."

The two stood side-by-side but focused their attention onto the guests. "He is here, however I haven't seen him yet." Alex admitted. "Trying to find a man wearing a tuxedo in a room full of men wearing tuxedos is like trying to find a needle in a hay stack."

"Actually, it's more like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles." Reid corrected.

Alex turned to him with a grimace. "You know, sometimes you sound like Roger Hardy, that genius guy from Davis' team."

Reid furrowed his eyebrows. "You mean the guy with the long unkempt hair and babbles off statistics without knowing when to shut up? Yeah, just because someone has a high IQ doesn't mean that you need to look and act like a dork. I mean, look at me. I have an IQ of 187, and I don't act like that."

"I know, that's one of the things I love about you!" Alex smiled at him. "Oh, hey, looks like our friend is here." Alex tilted her head toward their target.

"How do you want to play it?" Reid asked.

"Russia?" Alex suggested.

"I was held hostage and beaten in Russia after that ploy." Reid stared at her.

Alex smirked. "Okay, how about France?"

Reid nodded and the two walked into the crowed. He walked up to a gorgeous young women, grabbed her hand and kissed it. She started to speak to him in Italian and he spoke back, fluently. He took her into his arms and they gracefully moved onto the dancefloor.

Alex made her way toward Harris Knight, the founder and CEO of the Knights Corporation. He was suspected of being a major drug kingpin. She started to chat with him and their plan seemed to be working so far. He didn't brush her off and actually was engaged with what she had to say, or was is her looks? Either way, he was taking the bait.

Reid continued to spin across the dancefloor with his Italian beauty when at the right moment, he swung her directly into Alex and Knight forcing them to drop their drinks over each other. "Oh, I am so sorry." Reid apologized.

"That's okay." Knight held up his hand to Reid as he tried to help clean up the spilled wine. "We will take care of it." He turned to Alex. "Come with me, my dear, and we can get this taken care of."

Reid watched as Alex walked away with their target. Reid escorted his Italian date to the balcony where they were alone and secluded. After a long make-out session. He excused himself to check on his partner.

He headed down the long hallway until he noticed one of Knight's guard's standing in front of a closed door. The guard recognized him and went to stop him from entering. Reid blocked him then the two exchanged hits, finally, Reid flipped him over and the guard landed on his back, unconscious. Reid dragged him out of the view from the hallway.

Reid stood in front of the formerly blocked door and adjusted his bowtie to make sure it was straight. He pulled his .38 from his back holster and busted into the room where Alex was making out with Knight. Alex continued to play her part and acted scared. Knight pulled out his own gun and pointed it to her head.

Knight looked to Reid. "Looks like we have a quandary on our hands, Agent Reid of the CIA."

Reid held his gun steady at his target as his friend and partner was in his light of fire. He was slightly unnerved that Knight knew who he was… but how? "So, what is the quandary?" He asked.

"You have ten minutes." Knight stated, sharply.

"Ten minutes for what?" Reid asked looking into Alex's worried eyes.

"In a little less than ten minutes, now, several well-placed bombs will go off throughout this stunning mansion. So you have to decide, do you save all those people… or your partner?" He pushed the barrel of the gun more firmly into her head making her gasp.

"Spencer, go. Go get them out of here." Alex urged.

Reid's hand began to waiver as he knew what the right thing to do was, but didn't want to have to make that decision. "Alex…" He started.

"I know." She responded. "Go."

Reid lowered his weapon.

"A wise choice, Agent." Knight held onto Alex as he walked backward toward the patio door.

Reid kept eyes on her for as long as he could, then turned to get everyone out of the building. He yelled into the mic attached to his watch. "Get everyone out, there's a bomb!" He ran into the ballroom and warned everyone.

The socialites in attendance all ran out of the building, stampeding, pushing and shoving to be able to escape. A few moments later the building blew up. Reid helped to pick up a lady who was next to him. He then ran to the backside of the mansion to find where Knight would have gone off to, but there was no sight of him or Alex.

Two weeks later, Reid tracked down Knight to a Tuscan villa. He went on this mission, solo, while keeping in touch with his handler who was a few miles away. The home was built atop a cliff on the shoreline. Reid used the cover of darkness to make his way through the water to the edge of the rock wall. He scaled the wall and then waited for the guard to walk by. He grabbed him, broke his neck, and flipped him backwards into the water.

Unsure if Alex was even still alive, he braced himself for how he might find her if she was. But he wasn't prepared for what he did find. He peeked through the window to find his partner having sex with the enemy himself. He silently opened the door and walked through with his weapon pointing at both of them while they were under their silk sheets together. "Never in a million years would I expect to see this." Reid announced.

Alex was in shock as they stopped and looked to the young man she betrayed. "Spencer…" Her voice was apologetic.

"Save it." He took a step closer. "You only have one minute… One minute before the entire CIA enters this place to _save_ you, Alex. Did you know that thirty-two people died in that explosion? I would be able to wrap my head around Knight doing that. He's the villain. But having you be a part of it, Alex? After all the times we talked about taking down the evil in this world." He stared at her, unknowing what else to say, how to process this betrayal. He was so worried about her, about what Knight could have done to her in the past two weeks, only to discover that they were lovers.

Just as he warned, the entire property was swarming with CIA Agents. Reid turned his back as they cuffed Alex and escorted her and Knight away.

"You weren't the only one who didn't see this, son." A man placed his hand on Reid's shoulder.

"I should have." Reid was beating himself up. He then looked up to his handler. "I can't do this anymore, Parker. I need a change."

"I had a feeling." Parker patted Reid's back." I already placed a call to the Director at the FBI."

"FBI? How is that different?"

"There is an opening in the Behavioral Analysis Unit. Someone with your genius would do well there profiling serial killers. But I must warn you. No one must know about your work with us." Parker looked him directly in his eyes.

Reid nodded. "I understand." He then smirked. "I guess I can turn myself into Roger Hardy."

Parker smiled. "You should start by growing your hair out, and get yourself some sweater vests."

"I would look like a teacher's assistant." Reid smirked.


	2. Chapter 2

*** Six Years Later ***

Reid stepped off the elevator on the sixth floor and walked into the BAU holding a to-go coffee cup containing a double espresso. "Actually, people commonly use the word _jiffy_ as an arbitrary definition of time to just mean _quickly_. However, it is a quantitative unit of time equaling 1/100th of a second."

"Okay, I will add that to my list." Morgan advised.

"What list?" Reid asked.

"Of words to never use around you again." Morgan looked up to Hotch's closed office to see he was speaking to someone. "Who's that in Hotch's office?" He asked Prentiss while pointing to the window.

"I don't know, but he has been in there for over a half hour." She informed.

Reid recognized his old boss, Elis Parker, who is now the Deputy Director of the CIA, talking with is current boss. He instinctively took a deep breath wondering why he was there. He knew he wasn't allowed to say anything to the team. He wasn't allowed to tell them anything. However, most of the stories of his childhood were true, the stories he told after high school were not.

While his teammates believed that he was recruited by the FBI out of college, after earning several PhDs and BAs, they do not know his life as one of the CIA's best operatives while still completing his education.

Hotch exited his office and leaned over the banister. "I need you in the conference room." He announced to the team.

The group gathered at the round table. "What's this all about?" Morgan asked.

"This is Deputy Director Parker of the CIA. He has come here needing our help." Hotch advised then opened the floor for Parker to speak.

"Six years ago, I was in charge of a team of the very best the CIA had to offer. We were working on a mission to take down Harris Knight." He shot a quick look to Reid.

"I remember him." Prentiss announced. "I read something about it, how all of his shareholders denied any culpability with Knight after his arrest. The whole corporation floundered."

"So, if he was arrested, why do you need our help?" JJ asked.

"Because two weeks ago Knight escaped from Leavenworth and we have been unable to locate him." Parker admitted.

"Wouldn't you CIA guys usually do some overt ops and track him down?" Morgan leaned back in his chair. "Why come to us?"

"Even though we do not know where Knight is, we suspect that a series of murders were caused by him. The victims have all been involved in Knights Corporation or its subsidiaries. It is too close to be a coincidence." Parker confessed. "Normally this is something that the CIA would handle internally, but I am coming to you for assistance."

"Why us?" Rossi was curious. "You already know who he is, how he operates. I am sure that you don't need a profile on him."

"That is correct. We are not actually looking for your assistance with Knight. We need it when we speak to his partner, Alex Marcus."

Reid's eyes widened as he stared back at Parker.

"And who is Alex Marcus?" JJ looked confused.

Parker cleared his throat. "She was one of my operatives. She was a part of the team that was assembled to bring down Knight. What we didn't know at the time was that she was a double agent and was working with him the entire time. She was arrested with him and sent to a separate institution. We want to question her to see what information she knows. That is where I will need your help. She is a trained spy and knows how to respond to questioning and to withstand torture. We need a profile on her."

Reid looked down at the casefile that was handed out. He opened it. There were pictures of Alex clipped to the inside. He stared at the one of her smiling, like the Alex he remembered. Then he looked at one behind it was when she was booked. The defeat in her eyes. He had only seen that look once before from here, and that is when he held the gun to her right before her arrest.

"Alright everyone we are heading to Hazelton in West Virginia, wheels up in thirty." Hotch and the team left the room. Reid lingered behind.

"Did you tell Hotch?" Reid asked Parker.

"Of course not. Look, I was serious when I told you that your past needs to stay there, but if we need to reveal pieces of who you were to track down Knight, then we will do that. I am going to need you with me on this case."

"Don't you understand how difficult this is for me? I will have to continue to keep what I know a secret, while asking my old partner for help. I trusted her, I put my life in her hands and she stabbed me in the back." Reid started to show his anger. "You know that I can't even be seen by her, no mention of my name or anything. My team can't know."

"I promise, Reid, we will keep your past out of this as much as we can." Parker tried to calm him down.

"And if we can't?" Reid started toward the door then stopped. "I will have to admit to my friends that I have been lying to them since I've met them." He walked out of the conference room.

Morgan approached Reid after watching the interaction through the window. "Hey, Kid. What was that about?"

"Oh, nothing." Reid didn't want to tell a lie by giving some fake story, then walked to the bathroom.

Reid leaned over as he placed his hands on the cold sink then looked up into the mirror. He remembered who and what he was six years ago and what he has done to get past it. Reid turned on the water and splashed it onto his face, trying not to think about when his friends discover that he is a fraud.

Reid got up and went to grab a paper towel but saw Rossi holding one out for him instead. "Oh, I didn't see you there." Reid was taken aback.

"I got the feeling that you have met Director Parker before." Rossi observed.

"Oh? Why is that?" Reid asked.

"Ah, avoidance. Answering a question with a question." Rossi nodded.

"Are you profiling me, Rossi?" Reid became defensive.

"Just pointing out an observation." Rossi stared at his friend.

Reid pursed his lips. "Okay, then." And walked passed him, exiting the men's room.

"Okay, indeed." Rossi said to himself knowing this was only the beginning.


	3. Chapter 3

Reid was the last to board the jet, using that as an excuse to sit the furthest from the rest of the team. Parker was the center of attention, being at the table with Hotch.

"As far as tracking down Knight, I have my team already on that, like I mentioned before." Parker started. "What I will need your help with is the interrogation of Alex Marcus. We believe that she could have foreknowledge of this escape. If she does not, she might know where Knight would be going to hide or who could be next on his hit list."

The team flipped through the pages of redacted files on Alex and Knight. Pictures were included, but some of the other people were blackened out. Reid was able to decipher that he was in some of those pictures, unable to be seen.

Prentiss looked up to Parker. "Every mention of Alex's partner in the CIA has been redacted. Would this person be able to help us?"

Reid focused on Parker to see what he was going to say.

"Her partner has since left the Agency. However I have been reaching out about the case, he has been kept in the loop." Parker informed.

"We should think about bringing him in. He might be able to validate any information she would be giving us." Rossi suggested.

Parker shook his head. "He was adamant about not wanting to drudge up the past. I think we should wait to cross that bridge unless we absolutely have to."

Hotch stared at Parker. "Are you certain that her partner wasn't involved in this, as well?"

Parker took a quick glance at Reid then looked down at the table as he nodded. "Yes, I would stake my reputation on it. He was devastated by the duplicity. That is actually the reason why he left."

JJ reviewed the file. "Well, it looks like Alex is well educated, is fluent in several languages, skilled in martial arts, just your average double-o-seven."

Hotch turned to Prentiss. "We might need some of your assistance if she wants to play games by speaking a different language."

"How were you finally able to get the dirt on Knight?" Morgan asked.

Parker shifted in his seat. "It all started in Miami. We were able to get names of dealers and suppliers going right up the food chain. Eventually we got some of the lieutenants in his crew, they all started to mention Knight's name. He had his headquarters in Weston, Florida but we knew he was running all of the drugs in Miami. So, I sent in my team after a lead."

Reid looked out the oblong window. As Parker's voice faded into the background his mind slowly transformed the clouds into the waves of the ocean rolling onto the sandy beach while he remembered that operation.

" _I think I am going to need some more sunblock." Alex remarked while looking at her arms. She was sitting up in her chaise right next to Reid. His toned and tanned body leaned back, soaking up the sunshine wearing European bathing trunks and sunglasses. He silently picked up the bottle of sunblock and handed it to her. "Thanks." She took it and started to rub some onto her skin._

 _He lowered his sunglasses slightly down the bridge of his nose as he looked toward the cantina. "That's her." He stared at an attractive Latina woman wearing a white bathing suit and ordering a drink._

 _Alex leaned back onto her elbows. "Okay, how do you want to play this?"_

" _Moscow?" Reid proposed. "Don't worry, the first time we were in Moscow."_

" _Oh, good. Because if you were going to say the second time, I don't know how we would be able to pull it off without the monkey." She smirked at him. Alex took a deep breath then sat up in her lounge chair. "You don't have to talk to me that way!" She barked at Reid._

" _I will talk to you however I want!" Reid yelled back, playing along._

 _Alex stood up. "I am tired of you treating me this way and I am not going to put up with it anymore!" This time she was loud enough that the surrounding people were able to hear her, including the patrons at the cantina._

 _Reid continued to lean back in his chaise. "Go on, who needs you! I will find another one just like you!"_

 _Alex stormed off towards the woman in the white bikini. She allowed the crocodile tears to fall as she stood right next to her mark._

 _The bartender put a drink in front of her with an umbrella sticking out. "I'm sorry, honey. This is on me." He gave a wink. "You can do better than him."_

" _That should improve your mood." The Latina referred to the drink._

 _Alex sniffled. "Yes, but to be honest, I could go for something a little stronger." She looked back to her partner who was already chatting with two young women and rubbing her sunblock on their backs at the same time._

The jet hit turbulence which shook Reid from his memories. He looked to Parker who was still talking. "That woman from the beach was able to give us the information we needed to get to gala that he was attending. Unfortunately, he knew we were coming, because of Alex and set bombs as his escape plan. We were able to locate him and Alex a couple weeks later at a villa in Tuscany. That's where we discovered her duplicity."

Hotch looked to the team. "Dave and JJ, talk to the guards at the prison, see what kind of prisoner she has been. We need a list of visitors and any other information they may have. Morgan, Reid, go through the rest of her past, any of the information that Parker is able to share with us. Get Garcia's assistance, as well. Anything we may be able to use in the interrogation will help. Prentiss, I want you to interview her with me." The team nodded in agreement.

Reid let out a subtle sigh that he was not volunteered to be a part of the interview. He did not want to have to come up with a lie as to why he couldn't be involved.

As the team disembarked the jet, Reid walked slowly behind everyone else. He had his messenger bag on across his body and his hands in his pockets. He focused on his Converse shoes with each step he took.

"Hey, what's been with you, today?" JJ asked.

"Huh?" He was taken by surprise. "Oh, I, um, had a late night. Didn't get much sleep."

"Are you sure that's it?" She asked with concern.

He painted a fake smile across his face to put her at ease. "Of course. Why would I lie?"


	4. Chapter 4

Reid and Morgan entered the conference room where they found several file boxes stacked on top of the table. Morgan flipped over one of the lids to see a pile of unorganized files. He pulled out a file folder and looked through it. "Oh, what a surprise, more redacted information." He picked up the stack of paperwork and dropped it onto the table. "We are going to need to sort through all of this before we can do anything else."

"I'll do that." Reid was very eager to volunteer. "I can read through this faster than you anyway. It will be easier." He used this as an excuse. He wanted to see if there was any mention of him where it could have missed being blocked out.

As he flipped through a file, he was able to determine if it would pertain to him or not. He created several piles of information that included: Recruitment and training, field assignments, evaluations, and then possible compromised Intel.

After about an hour, Morgan was already half-way through her evaluations while Reid was focused on her training. His own memories came flooding back to him as he was reading about her recruitment.

 _Reid stood in a room with seven other teenagers, each standing behind a high workbench which were arranged in a half-moon around their instructor. "In front of each of you is a disassembled handgun. You will have one minute to see what weapon it is and reassemble it properly. The first person to complete this task will fire one round at this cymbal. Any questions? Good. Go ahead and remove the cloth." At that moment he started the timer._

 _Reid picked up the cloth to discover a glock 42, a gun he has used frequently. His eidetic memory was a major advantage. He didn't have to search for the next piece, he knew exactly where it was. After putting the final pieces together, he cocked the weapon and fired at the cymbal. The rest of the students finished moments later._

" _Reid, Sullivan, come with me." The instructor announced. The two young men followed as they entered a room where Agent Parker stood. The instructor nodded at Parker then left the room. The two youths stared at Parker, almost at attention._

 _Parker looked at them both. "I hear you are both at the top of your class. You have both excelled in languages, hand-to-and combat, weapons, and intelligence. I am assembling at team of the best from your class to handle missions and infiltration like no other seasoned agent will be able to accomplish. This will not be easy. So, I need to know if this is something you would be interested in going forward. If you say no, you may return to your fellow teammates and continue your courses. What do you say?"_

 _They both agreed._

" _Okay, from now on, everything you do, and who you are will change. You will no longer attend college. All of your courses will be completed through correspondence. But, to your family and friends, they mustn't know of any change. Any mention of this task force and you will be kicked off and your CIA career will be over." He shook each of their hands. "Welcome to your new life as a ghost."_

Hotch walked into the conference room. "What do you have so far?"

Morgan put down the file he was reading. "Well, what we are able to read shows that she is a perfectionist and high achiever. Never settles for anything less."

Reid instinctively nodded as he remembered Alex's personality.

"Is that what you show, Reid?" Hotch asked.

"Yes, I was looking through her training. She was involved in a special task force made up of the elite of the younger generation. They were all young adults, mostly teenagers." Reid informed.

"Really?" Hotch was taken aback. "Why recruit so young?"

"From what I've been able to decipher, this team was assembled to infiltrate and have access to where older agents would stick out. They used these kids to their advantage." Reid spoke from experience.

"The problem with recruiting people so young is that they can lose all sense of their own identities and sometimes can never adjust to civilian life." Hotch surmised.

* * *

Hotch and Prentiss entered an interview room where Alex Marcus was already seated and handcuffed to the hook on the table.

Alex looked up at them. "Feds, guessing by the suit." She stared at Hotch.

"I am SSA Hotchner, this is SSA Prentiss." They sat down across from her.

"What can I do for the FBI?" She asked in a condescending tone.

"We are here to speak to you about Harris Knight." Prentiss advised.

Alex stared back at them without any response.

Hotch focused on her waiting until the right moment, until she was looking at Prentiss. "He escaped from prison." Hotch divulged.

"What?" Alex was genuinely surprised. As she turned to look at Hotch.

"We are here to see what you can tell us about where he would go." Hotch confessed.

"So, you don't know where he is?" She asked.

"We have several leads, but we came to you to see if we could get our cooperation to help locate him." Prentiss stared at her.

"And you just expect me to help you from the goodness of my heart?" She snarked.

"We would see about certain allowances, depending on the information we receive." Hotch was trying to make a deal.

Alex thought for a second. "Look. I honestly had no clue that he would escape. However, I can say that I am not surprised. He doesn't like to be told what to do or be stuck in one place. But if I were in your shoes, I would warn anyone who ever crossed him to watch their backs. He would most certainly be on a warpath. I'm not even safe in here. If he knew I was talking to you, I could end up dead."

Hotch looked to Prentiss. "Let's see if Reid was able to get anything else."

Alex held her composure as she heard her old partner's name. She knew they must have reached out to him for information. If he was consulting with them she could only imagine what Intel they had already. She didn't know who to trust… if anyone.


	5. Chapter 5

Reid picked up the file that Hotch needed. He started down the long corridor. With each step, the end of the hallway seemed to get further and further away. He finally reached the interrogation room and stood outside the door. He looked down to the folder in his hands and stared at it, as if time stood still.

"Are you waiting for the door to open for you?" Rossi asked, standing behind him.

"What?" He thought for a second. "Oh, I was just making sure I didn't forget anything before I went in."

Rossi nodded then opened the door. He approached the one-way mirror and knocked on the glass.

Reid slowly entered the room as he was building up the courage to see his old friend.

Hotch and Prentiss stood up and went into the observation room to see Rossi. "What do you have?" Hotch asked.

"She hasn't had any visitors, no phone calls, not a single letter. Garcia is trying to track down any family members but it doesn't look like she has any." Rossi informed.

"She doesn't have any." Reid spoke up. Then realized what he was saying. "At least none that was listed in her file." He knew that her parents made her an orphan and she went from one foster home to another. She used to say that she would probably be dead or on the streets if she wasn't recruited.

Reid handed over the file to Hotch. The three of them spoke as Reid took steps toward the glass. He finally gazed upon the woman he had tried to not think about in six years. He tried to forget about her… about their friendship that he once thought was so strong. But he never could.

Alex looked up at the mirror. He felt as though she knew he was there. She then looked back down at her restrained hands. He watched her as she began to hum to herself. It was a song that Reid knew all too well. She hummed it all the time, even sang it in the shower. She was obsessed with _Crazy_ by Patsy Cline. A smirk came to his face when he thought about how that song even helped them on a mission.

 _Reid entered an elegant nightclub with Alex on his arm. They were dressed to the nines, looking like a wealthy, young couple. A trio played on a small stage in the corner of the room, but no one seemed to be paying attention. Their mission: plant a tracking device on their mark, Mark Winters._

 _After waiting for almost an hour, Winters showed up. Sullivan was undercover as a waiter. But any time he tried to get close enough, he wasn't able to plant the device without going unnoticed._

 _Alex leaned into Reid. "How are we going to do this? We need a distraction."_

" _Give me a second." Reid approached the piano player. He whispered in his ear and then she saw him hand over some money as he pointed to Alex. He went to her and grabbed her arm._

" _What are you doing?" She questioned._

" _I told him how much my girlfriend wanted to sing. He said it would be no problem."_

" _Spencer, I can't do that!" She resisted._

" _You will be great. Plus, this is the distraction we need."_

 _They both got up on stage. Reid slid next to the piano player and studied the keys. He then started to play the opening notes to_ Crazy. _The bass player and drummer joined in._

 _She turned to him and smiled as he continued to play. Alex stepped up to the microphone and sang well enough to give Patsy Cline a run for her money. The plan worked. Everyone in the club stopped what they were doing and focused on Alex. Sullivan was able to plant the tracker and move away before the song was over._

"Do you agree, Reid?" Hotch asked.

"Huh? What?" He looked at his boss.

"We believe that she has been in communication with someone, and not in the traditional way. Do you think that is possible?" Hotch stared at Reid.

"Yes. Given her knowledge. I wouldn't be surprised if she has had some sort of alternative communication since she hasn't had any visitors in six years."

Hotch nodded at Reid. He and Prentiss went back into the interrogation room.

"Now, that I definitely noticed." Rossi pointed out.

"Noticed what?" Reid, once again became defensive.

Rossi stepped closer to him. "There is something bothering you. You are off… even for you."

Reid was tired of lying. He just wanted to tell the truth… but he couldn't. "Rossi, I promise you that I will tell you. But I can't do that right now. I need to deal with this on my own."

Rossi looked at him and could see the struggle in his eyes. "I can respect that. I will make a deal with you."

Reid looked back at the senior agent, curious.

"I will back off and allow you to sort through whatever you need. Know that I am here for you when you need me. But," Rossi took a step closer. "If this affects how you do your job. Affects this case, then I can't allow you to continue. We need your head in this. Can you do that?"

Reid nodded. "Yes, thanks, Rossi."

"No problem, Kid." Rossi tapped his shoulder. He then left the room, leaving Reid alone to watch the interview.

Reid stepped back to the one-way mirror to study the woman he thought he knew.

Alex sighed then looked up to Hotch and Prentiss. "I want to help you, but I have a problem."

"What's that?" Prentiss asked.

"I don't trust you. Knight has his hooks everywhere, in some very powerful people. How do I know that you aren't some of those people?" Alex asked.

"Because we aren't" Hotch stated, matter-of-factly.

"I wish I couldn't believe you, but I can't." Alex started to show fear.

"What can we do to help you?" Prentiss looked her in the eyes, showing her sincerity.

"I will only talk to my old partner." Alex became calm and sure of herself. "I trust him."

Reid stared back at her in shock. Unsure of what he should do.


	6. Chapter 6

Hotch looked at Alex. "We will have to see what we can do about that." He got up from his chair.

Reid quickly left and made his way back to the group in the conference room.

"Anything new?" Morgan asked.

"I'm not sure if they were able to get anything from her." Reid answered without making eye contact and picked up a file to read through it.

Prentiss entered the room a few minutes behind Reid. "We might have something. She says that she will talk but only to her old partner, whoever that is. Hotch went to go talk to Parker."

Hotch joined the team with Parker close behind. "We need for you to bring in her partner. That is the only way she is going to talk to us. She knows more than she is letting on."

"But what if this is part of some game?" Parker asked. "What if it is some kind of stall tactic?"

"What about the possibility that the partner was in on this whole thing, too?" Morgan pointed out. "She was able to fool you for who knows how long, how can you be sure that the partner didn't either?"

Reid took Morgan's words personally. He wasn't able to see that she was keeping something from him. He wondered if she was playing a game, and would he be able to see it. A lot has changed in six years. He might not know her as well as he used to.

Parker nodded. "I will reach out to him again, let him know the situation. He might change his mind." He then shot a subtle glance to Reid. Parker pulled out his phone and left the room.

Reid stood up. "I am going to get some coffee, I'll be back." Reid made his way to the the break room and poured himself a cup, he was soon joined by Parker.

"It's up to you, Son. You just give me direction." Parker held the carafe in his hand.

"Morgan is right, this could all be some game. I am not going to put myself out there to just have her toy with me." Reid stirred in four tablespoons of sugar.

"Okay, we are leaving it like it is for right now." Parker took his coffee cup and headed outside to make his phone call.

Reid returned to the group. "What if we are unable to get her partner? What is the plan?"

"We continue digging." Hotch stated.

Morgan pulled out his ringing phone. "Tell me what you got, Baby Girl."

"I have tried to pull every string out there and came up with zilch, nadda, nothing. There is no mention of her partner's name on anything that isn't redacted. I even tried some backdoor things that technically I am not supposed to do and you aren't supposed to know about, and I couldn't get to it there, either. There is someone working really hard to keep this person a ghost. Pun intended."

Reid's leg continued to twitch as he heard Garcia's words coming from the phone. He felt that at any second the hammer was going to drop.

Rossi leaned over to him and whispered. "You might want to cut back on the coffee. It is making you look antsy."

Reid nodded and put the cup down on the table. He picked back up a file as a means to distract himself.

"Thanks, Garcia. Keep digging." Hotch urged.

"To the ends of the earth, Mon Capitaine." Garcia hung up.

JJ entered the conference room with a concerned look on her face.

"What is it?" Hotch asked.

"Metro police in New York found another victim of Knight's." She reported. "His name was Charles Sullivan. He was only 28."

Reid did everything he could to not react after hearing that his friend was killed. They were recruited together and worked on the same team for years, and now he's gone.

Morgan pulled out some of the files that he looked through before. "Wait, he was on the same team as Alex. I found a section where his name wasn't blackened out."

"It looks like he is changing his targets. First he went after people who were in business with him would could have betrayed him. Now, it appears that he is now going after those who helped capture him." Hotch observed.

"That means anyone who was on this team with Alex could be a potential target, including her." Prentiss pointed out.

Hotch dialed Garcia.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I don't have anything yet." She regrettably admitted.

"I need you to look up everything you can on a Charles Sullivan. He was just found killed in New York. He was CIA and was on Alex's team. Check into his financials, see if he could have been in league with Knight, as well. And now that we know about this, we need to find this partner urgently. His life could now be in danger." Hotch hung up.

Parker returned to the team. "I wasn't able to get ahold of her partner, but I did leave a message for him to call me, and that it was urgent."

Hotch stared at Parker. "Why didn't you tell us about Charles Sullivan being killed when you found out? Why did we have to hear about it through other channels?"

"We were waiting to see if his death was related to Knight or not. Our latest Intel had reports of him being in New York. We are certain of it now." Parker reported.

Reid became flustered. "And you didn't think that having that information was important enough for us to know about it? But instead you just talk to us like nothing has happened? After you came and asked us for help?" He said with anger.

"Reid." Hotch scolded.

Parker put up his hand. "No, he is right." He looked directly at Reid, knowing that he was hurt about hearing his friend had been murdered. "I should have told you." He then looked around to the others. "I am sorry. I am going to see what other information I can get for you." He excused himself from the room.

"Go ahead, Garcia." Hotch answered his phone.

"I don't have everything you need, yet, but I did find something interesting. Harris Knight was listed as a co-owner on several accounts and two properties all listed in the same person's name."

"And who is that?" Hotch asked.

"Gino Mancini. But here's the kicker. Mancini doesn't excist. There's no birth certificate, no social security number, zero."

Reid heard Gino Mancini's name before. He thought through every conversation he had ever had with Alex and started to put the pieces together.

"Thank you, Garcia." Hotch ended the call.

A guard knocked on the door and entered. "Agent Hotchner, I wanted to let you know that we're are transferring the prisoner back to her cell until you are ready to interview her again."

"Thank you." Hotch replied.

"Could Mancini be a cover for someone? Maybe the partner?" Prentiss asked.

Reid stood up. "Wait a minute." Then charged out of the room toward the interrogation rooms.

"Reid, what are you doing?" Hotch started after him with the team following behind.

Reid turned the corner and came face to face with his old friend. He asked her two guards to wait a second. He then looked her in the eyes. "You said you would only speak to your partner. Well, here I am."


	7. Chapter 7

"What did he just say?" Morgan asked, rhetorically.

Hotch held up his hand to stop any further comments so he could observe the exchange between the two partners.

"I knew you would come." Alex smiled, genuinely happy to see her old friend.

The guard faced Reid. "Sir, we can't just stand in the corridor. Do you want her in her cell or back in the interrogation room?"

"That depends on her." He looked to Alex. "If you are able to help us, then I will talk with you. But I am not going to let you dick me around." The team watched as Reid's demeanor completely changed before their eyes. He then looked back to the guard. "Yes, please bring her back into the room." Reid followed after them.

Hotch entered the observation room with the team in tow. They swarmed in front of the one-way mirror to witness this exchange.

The guards finished securing her back to the table. Reid nodded, giving them permission to leave. He sat across from her waiting for her to talk.

Alex grinned at him. "You look good, Spencer."

"I wish I could say the same for you." He leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. "Orange really isn't your color." He snarked.

"You always did have the best fashion sense." She smirked.

Prentiss turned to Morgan. "Fashion sense?"

Alex looked him up and down. "But I didn't know that Versace made sweater vests."

Reid stared at her. "So, what did you want to tell me? Because I have work to do and don't have time for your shit."

"I know where Harris Knight had some hidden assets." She divulged.

"If you are talking about everything that is in Gino Mancini's name, ya, we already know about those. You are going to need to do better than that."

"Oh." She felt disappointed. She truly thought she was going to be able to offer something helpful.

He leaned forward in his chair. "You couldn't tell me about this before? I have to find out six years later about the connection with Gino? I could have helped you. Why wouldn't you come to me?"

"Because I had to do it for myself, Spencer." She appeared agitated. "You know that. Was it the wrong thing? Yes. I admit that. I was young and stupid. But I have already beaten myself up about it. I don't need for you to tell me that you were right."

"Alex." He stared at her.

"That's the information I was going to share with you." She was holding back.

Reid took a breath. "He killed Charles."

Alex looked heartbroken. She then sat up with a new attitude. "I knew about an account he had in the name of Joseph Dawson, it was one of his aliases. He didn't know that I knew about it. The account number is 742389110. Follow the money." She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Spencer. I know how close you were." She spoke sincerely.

"He was your friend, too, Alex." He let out a sigh and stood up. "I am going to need to verify this information. Meanwhile, you will be returned to your cell."

"Spencer… I…" She started.

"I can't right now." He cut her off. He didn't want to hear her excuses. He wasn't ready to deal with her apologies.

Reid went into the interrogation room where he stood in front of his speechless friends. "I suggest you have Garcia look up that account number." Reid then walked past them.

"Where are you going?" Morgan asked.

"There is something I need to take care of." He stated, and then walked off, on a mission.

Morgan turned to the group. "Is he serious right now? What the hell is going on?" He then looked directly at Hotch. "Did you know about this?"

Hotch tried to mask his betrayed feelings. "No, I didn't."

* * *

Reid narrowed in on Parker and grabbed by the arm. "We need to talk."

They went into an empty office and closed the door. "I just met with Alex and now my team knows."

"I am sorry that you have to go through this, I truly am." Parker was sincere.

"Why didn't you tell me about Charles? I was standing right next to you."

"I wanted to. I was under orders." Parker confessed. "You aren't in the CIA anymore; you aren't privy to this kind of information."

"He was my friend! And you knew that!" Reid was livid.

"I thought I was protecting you. I'm sorry."

"Protecting me? By having news smack me across the face and the inability to react in front of people. For Christ's sake, I was the Best Man at his wedding!"

"I know this isn't any consolation, but when the agents were sweeping his home, they found a file with your name on it. They looked through and it appears like some old letters. I had them send me digital copies." He handed over a thumb drive. "I think it must be something he wanted you to have."

Reid stared at the drive in his hand thinking that this was the only thing left from his old friend.

* * *

Rossi slowly stepped back into the observation room to see Hotch alone looking through the window at the empty seat where Reid was sitting minutes before.

"I thought I might find you in here." Rossi announced.

"Is there something new?" Hotch asked.

"I'm not here to talk about the case." Rossi approached his friend.

"I know what you're trying to do, Dave. Don't waste your time." Hotch warned.

"You do know that he wasn't able to tell us, even if he wanted to." Rossi pointed out.

Hotch turned to face him, looking pained. "We both read the file on that team. We know what kind of people the members were, the talents they were _required_ to have to accomplish their missions. Now, does that sound like the Spencer Reid you know? Because it doesn't to me!" He let out a frustrated sigh. "So who is he, Dave?"


	8. Chapter 8

JJ stepped into a quiet hallway where she dialed Garcia on her phone.

"I'm sorry." Garcia started. "I am still working, I don't have an update."

"It's okay." JJ said in a solemn and reserved tone. "I actually have two things for you."

"Hold on." Garcia rolled her chair to the other end of her office, grabbed the sparkly pen from the desk then rolled back. "Shoot."

"I have an account number, 742389110, under the name, Joseph Dawson. Alex said that Knight had funds hidden there."

Garcia finished jotting down the information then looked up, curiously. "And the second thing?"

JJ looked to make sure she was alone. "Um, we found out who Alex's partner was."

"Who?" Garcia waiting a few seconds. "Come on, don't leave me in suspense." She smirked.

"It was Spencer." JJ stated, bluntly.

Garcia let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, that would be funny. I could see it now, double-oh-Reid." Garcia was anxious for JJ's laughter but it didn't come.

"I'm serious." JJ uttered.

"Oh come on." Garcia paused. "Oh, my. You are serious."

"Yes, the entire team just saw him sit down with Alex."

"Oh. What does this mean? Why didn't he tell us?"

JJ let out a sigh. "I don't know why or what is going to happen. He actually hasn't even talked to us yet. But look, I need to go. I will call you later." JJ hung up as she saw Hotch and Rossi exit the observation room. "Hotch." She called out.

"What is it, JJ?" Hotch asked.

"Are we making any statements about Sullivan's death?"

"Let's get with Parker. I'm sure the CIA doesn't want to broadcast that one of their own was killed because of Knight." Hotch then stormed off.

JJ looked at Rossi. "Does this mean Spencer's life is in danger?"

Rossi walked toward her with his hands in his pockets. "Yes, it does."

"What do we do?" JJ was worried.

"We catch this guy." Rossi was determined. "And we make sure that Reid stays safe."

* * *

Reid found a little corner to be alone. With the stress of the day getting to him, he was dwelling on when he would be confronted by his friends. But then there were other people on his mind.

Just when he thought he understood everything, he was thrown for a loop. He never thought he would hear Gino's name ever again. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

 _Reid sat across from Sullivan in the middle of a busy Chinese restaurant. They laughed with each other as they downed their sake bombs. The waiter came by and placed four plates loaded with food in the middle of their table. Reid picked up his chopsticks and started to pick at the food._

" _Shouldn't we wait for Alex?" Sullivan asked._

" _She is the one who is late. I'm hungry." He glanced at the table next to them. He watched as the man fiddled with his chopsticks. He leaned closer to Sullivan. "I can't believe a grown man doesn't know how to use chopsticks."_

 _Alex came storming in while removing her coat. "I am so sorry I am late, I got caught up." She sat down and scooped the kung pao chicken onto her plate._

 _Sullivan smirked at her. "Were you with_ him _again?" He winked_

" _Him? Him who?" Reid looked at them confused._

" _Alex has herself a boyfriend." Sullivan teased._

 _Reid grinned. "Oh, what's his name?"_

" _Gino." She admitted, feeling self-conscious._

" _Have you vetted him?" Reid asked, sounding like an agent._

" _No, I haven't." She snapped. "I am not going to look up dirt on him. That's not fair. I want to find out who he is on my own."_

" _What if he is a serial killer or something?" Sullivan asked._

" _Yeah, you could end up in pieces along the highway or something." He took a bite of his food. "Or, be put into the chop suey." He smirked._

 _Alex threw a dumpling at Reid. "Shut up. Just let me be happy for once."_

 _Reid looked to Sullivan. "I don't know, Charles, should we be nice to her?"_

" _To the sister we never had? Naw, what's the fun in that?"_

Reid smiled remembering all the fun he had with these people. They truly were his family. He thought that he would never be close to anyone like that again.

* * *

Prentiss followed Morgan into the conference room. He looked at the stack of files on the table and flipped them over in anger. The papers scattered everywhere.

"Well, that's going to be fun to clean up." She said sarcastically.

"Don't start with me right now, Prentiss." Morgan warned.

"Okay… I'm sensing some hostility."

He glared at her.

"Morgan, you need to calm down."

"I don't need to be anything right now." He stopped and looked at her. "Aren't you upset? We just found out that our friend… our _good_ friend has been lying to us!" He walked toward the other end of the room.

"Yes." She nodded. "But I can understand why he did."

"What?" Morgan turned to her. "You're saying that someone you have known for over four years has been lying to you about who he is and you're just okay with that?"

"That's not what I'm saying." She took a seat. "He was CIA. He wasn't allowed to talk about it even when he was an active agent, you know that. Then especially with him being on this special team. It only worked because of the secrecy. Reid did what he needed to do."

Morgan held up his hands in front of him. "I don't accept that."

"Besides, everyone is entitled to their secrets." She said to herself.

"You hiding something, too?" Morgan snapped.

"Come on, Morgan, you of all people should understand what it's like to want to have the past stay in the past." Prentiss pointed out.

"But not at the expense of who I am. I never lied about it."

"I know that. I am just saying to give Reid a chance to explain." Prentiss suggested.

Morgan thought for a second. "I guess I can do that. But I don't have to like it."

Rossi stepped into the room to see Morgan standing facing the wall and Prentiss staring at the table. He then saw the paperwork scattered across the floor. "I was going to ask how you were doing, but I can see that's a moot point."

"It's just going to take some time." Prentiss spoke up. "She then went to pick up the papers.

Morgan let out a frustrated sigh and helped her out.

A few moments later Hotch returned to the group with JJ close behind. He stood before them waiting for their attention. "I understand how you all must be feeling right now, but we have a killer on the loose and someone who might be able to help us." He took a breath. "Reid is still a member of this team and any comments about his life before he joined the FBI will have to wait. We have a job to do."

The team turned their focus from Hotch and all looked through the door's window. Hotch saw this and turned around to see Reid standing on the other side.


	9. Chapter 9

Reid opened the door and took a step into the room. His lips were pursed together and he gave a shy smirk. The team stared at him, unsure of what to say or do.

JJ broke the ice by stepping toward him. "I am so sorry about the death of your friend." She gave him a hug.

"Thank you." He nodded. He couldn't help but focus on Morgan's disappointed face.

"Who else was a member of your team?" Hotch asked. "Their lives are in danger."

"There was only one other person, Hugh Barlow. I haven't talked to him in a few years. I am not sure where he is." Reid admitted.

Hotch looked to JJ. "Get Garcia on the video."

Moments later Garcia's face appeared on the laptop's screen. "Hello, Crime Fighters!" She then noticed Reid standing in the background. "Hi, Reid." She remarked.

He picked up his hand and gave a subtle wave back.

"There was a fourth member of this team, Hugh Barlow. We need to locate him. His life is in danger." Hotch advised.

Parker entered the room and the team gave him the cold shoulder as they returned to their conversation.

"I was able to verify the information that Alex gave about that account. There's oodles of cash in that account plus an estate in Joseph Dawson's name." Garcia announced.

"Do you think you can send me that information?" Parker asked. "I can get my people over there and apprehend him."

Garcia looked to Hotch, who nodded at her.

"I will send it over to you, shortly." Garcia then signed off.

Hotch approached Parker. "Have you been in contact with Hugh Barlow?"

"Yes. He was advised about the threat against him. He has been put into protection." Parker informed. He sensed the tension in the room. "Listen, I can appreciate your feelings right now. But I wasn't able to tell you about Reid's status. It was need-to-know."

"Yeah, we have been blanketed with need-to-know, lately." Morgan snarked.

"Well, I need to get my team to Knight's estate." Parker excused himself from the room.

"Reid, I would like you and Prentiss to go back to Alex and see what other information she will be able to get us. I have a feeling that she knows more than she is telling us." Hotch surmised.

Reid and Prentiss left the team and headed toward the interrogation room. "So, are you mad at me, too?" He asked.

She stared at him. "No… I'm not mad at you." She scrunched her face. "It is going to take some time to sink in, though."

"That's perfectly understandable."

She touched his shoulder. "Don't worry about Morgan. He will get past it."

They informed the guard to bring Alex back into interrogation. They then sat down and waited for her to arrive. Prentiss stared at him, looking into his eyes.

"What?" He felt self-conscious.

"Tell me something." She said bluntly.

"Tell you what?" He was confused.

"Tell me something that I didn't know about you." Prentiss looked curious.

He thought to himself for a second, trying to figure out what to share. "I speak twelve languages, fluently." He smirked.

Prentiss' mouth dropped open. "You're kidding me."

He then spoke to her in French. "No, I am not. I am full of surprises, my dear friend."

In that moment she saw a completely different Reid. He was suave and confident. Even she was beginning to wonder who he really was.

The guards opened the door and escorted Alex into the room. He went to secure her to the table when Reid interrupted. "That isn't necessary." The guard nodded then left the room.

"We found an estate in Joseph Dawson's name. Parker is sending a team over there now." Reid informed her.

Alex let out a subtle chuckle. "Parker. That's someone I haven't thought of in a while."

"I'm sure you weren't on his Christmas card list, either." Reid joked.

Prentiss looked puzzled Reid. She never heard Reid joke like that before. She then focused back on Alex. "We were hoping that you would be able to share with us what else you know."

Alex looked to Reid. "Well that depends on, you, Spencer."

"Oh, yeah? How's that?"

She leaned back in her chair. "I have been cooped up in here for six years. Maximum security for a traitor to the country, isn't as much fun as it sounds. I was hoping that we can make a deal."

"What kind of deal?" Prentiss asked.

Alex kept her focus on Reid. "An information exchange, as it were. You give me something I want and I will give you what you want."

"I told you I wasn't going to play your games, Alex." Reid scowled.

"This isn't a game! People's lives are on the line. So, if you want my information, then you are going to do things my way." Alex broadcasted with a fire in her eyes.

Reid and Prentiss then heard a knock on the mirror. The got up and went into the observation room where Hotch and Rossi were watching the exchange.

Prentiss shook her head. "I don't know. She knows she has the upper hand and she is using that to play at something."

Hotch looked to Reid. "What do you think?"

"She knows more than what she is telling us, I know that for sure." Reid said confidently.

"So, what is this bartering thing, then?" Rossi was curious. "Surely she knows that this is going to make us more suspicious of her."

Reid looked back at Alex through the glass then back to the team. "She's scared about something. She is doing anything she can to keep a modicum of control."

"Who is Gino Mancini?" Hotch stared at Reid. "Garcia said that he didn't exist."

"He doesn't." Reid responded.

Hotch tilted his head as his eyebrows furrowed.

"Alex was dating a guy named Gino. It was obviously some kind of con. I didn't make the connection until Garcia mentioned his name."

Hotch nodded. "Okay, let's see what questions she's going to ask and what information we can get from her."

Reid and Prentiss went back in and sat across from Alex.

"So, what do you want to know?" Prentiss asked.

"I'm sure Parker gave it to you already." She sat up confidently as she spoke.

"Gave me what?" Reid questioned.

"I know that Charles left you something. I want to know what it was."


	10. Chapter 10

"I don't know what you're talking about." Reid stared at her

"You can lie to me all you what, but I know the truth. Charles left you something, and I want to know what it is." Alex smiled at him.

Reid and Prentiss got up and met up with Hotch and Rossi in the interrogation room.

"What is she talking about?" Hotch asked.

"There was an envelope with my name on it in Charles' home. Inside were handwritten letters to him." Reid reported.

"How would she know about these letters?" Rossi asked.

"I have no idea." Reid shrugged his shoulders.

"Who were the letters from?" Hotch asked with his arms folded across his chest.

"Two were from me, one from Alex, and one from Hugh. But they were just letters about catching up, what we were doing at the time. There wasn't anything case related."

"What were yours about?"

"One was during a trip home when I visited my mom. It didn't have any details that Alex didn't already know. The other was on a trip I took to London."

Rossi looked to Prentiss and mouthed "London?" She shrugged her shoulders in return.

"Do you foresee any issues with her getting a hold of this information?" Hotch tilted his head.

Reid thought and scrolled through each paper in his head. "No, I don't see anything in the letters that would be useful to her."

"Is there any possibility that Sullivan was working with Alex?" Hotch questioned.

"There is no way." Reid was adamant. "He was just as shocked as me. We were together when she was _kidnapped_ by Knight, we were both worried about her."

Hotch nodded. "Okay, go ahead and give them to her. But I want you to withhold one of them."

Reid left to get the copies. He put the thumb drive into the computer, pulled up the documents then pressed print.

 _Reid ran to the backside of the mansion where Knight escaped with Alex. But there was no trace of which direction they went it._

 _"Any sign of her?" Charles asked as he ran towards Reid. He was still in his valet uniform. His face was dirty from the explosion._

" _No, I have no idea where they could have gone."_

" _They couldn't have gone too far. There is nothing but woods out there. The nearest town isn't for miles." Charles turned around in a circle, still not seeing any possible place where they could have gone._

 _Just then they heard a familiar noise. They looked to see a helicopter rising above the tree line a couple miles away._

" _Come with me!" Charles yelled as he went running to the other side of the house. He went directly to a row of motorcycles. "They were for the security guards."_

 _They each got on top of one and road off attempting to catch up to the helicopter. The two agents were splattered with debris by the time they caught up to the get-away vehicle. The helicopter landed by a private dock then quickly took off. A boat sped off and was already a league away once Reid and Sullivan approached the water._

" _There is no way we would be able to swim that and catch up." Reid announced._

" _I just hope Alex is okay." Charles was concerned._

" _I hope so too." Reid tapped his friend on the shoulder. "Let's go back and report the boat to Parker. He might be able to track them."_

"Are you okay, Spence? JJ asked as she approached her zoned-out friend.

"Yes, I am okay." He wasn't sure how to respond.

"Look, I'm just going to come right out and say it… Why couldn't you tell us?" She looked hurt.

"I wasn't allowed to. I wasn't trying to keep things from you, but it was what I was supposed to do."

"I know, I get that. I do. But Spence, you haven't been acting like yourself. Or have you? I don't know anymore." She let out a sigh. "I'm just worried about my friend."

"Don't worry, JJ. I'm okay." He then rushed out of the room.

She was left alone feeling frustrated. "And you keep doing that." She said to herself.

Reid headed toward Hotch with the letters in hand. Hotch read over them. "I don't know why she would want these."

"Unless she is trying to divert our attention." Rossi suggested.

Reid and Prentiss returned to Alex who was patiently seated at the table, waiting for them. He handover the folder with the information she asked for.

She looked over them and smiled. "I think you forgot something."

"Oh yeah, what's that?" Reid asked.

"The other letter." She stared at him.

Reid leaned in. "That is to keep you honest."

She nodded. "Okay, I will go with that." She leaned back in her chair. "I think I know where Knight would go. But I am not certain. He owns a property in Hamilton, New York. He has an estate in the middle of miles of undeveloped landscape."

"How do you know this?" Prentiss asked.

"I've been there a few times. It's heavily guarded. He can be paranoid and would probably set booby-traps if he knew someone was coming."

The agents went back into the observation room. They were both surprised to see Parker standing next to Hotch.

"I have all my agents at the compound he has in Joseph Dawson's name. If he is there, we will take him into custody and we won't need her help anymore." Parker announced. He then answered his ringing phone. "What? What are you talking about?" He listened and was visibly agitated. "Okay, thank you." Then hung up.

"What's wrong?" Reid knew that it was something serious.

Parker stared off into nothingness while processing what he just heard. He then looked up to the group. "The compound was rigged to explode. As soon as the agents entered, the entire place went up. There weren't any survivors." He moved toward the window to look at Alex.

"Alex set us up." Rossi concluded. "She was the one that gave us that information."

Reid charged into the room. He then flipped over the metal chair. "I am tired of your games and your self-righteous attitude. Yes, you had a shitty childhood. But that doesn't mean that you are owed anything, especially not from me. Look me in eye and tell me the truth."

Alex was in shock over Reid's anger. "The truth about what?"

"Did you set us up?" He demanded an answer.

"Set you up? What are you talking about?" She was genuinely confused.

"The compound under Knight's alias that you gave us was set up to explode. All of the agents died. Is that because of you?" Reid pointed his finger in her face.

"Of course not. I am trying to help you, Spencer! The enemy is still out there." She pointed to the wall in anger.

Parker received another phone call and gave several yes answers. He then disconnected the call. He stood before Hotch. "I've been authorized to release Alex Marcus into the FBI's custody to assist with this case."


	11. Chapter 11

Hotch stared at Parker. "What? Why would Alex be released into FBI custody?"

"My director wants a third party, those who would not be compromised to oversee her temporary release." Parker informed.

"Have the paperwork sent to Agent Jareau." Hotch then turned to Reid. "Are you going to be okay with this?" Hotch asked making sure that he would able to do his job.

"Of course." Reid nodded. "I think she could be an asset to us in New York."

"We should assign Morgan and Prentiss to her." Rossi suggested.

"I should go break the news." Hotch entered the interrogation room and sat down across from Alex. "You are going to be released into our custody. You are going to assist us with this case."

Alex looked confused. "I am being released into _your_ custody? Not Parkers?"

"That is correct." Hotch stood up. He walked toward the door then stopped and turned to looked at her. "You have been given a chance here. I suggest you don't take it for granted."

"I understand." Alex meekly responded.

"But don't think that I will not shoot you if need-be. I want you to be absolutely clear on that." Hotch promised.

Alex nodded. "Yes, sir."

Hotch left Alex with the guards to be processed into their charge. The team gathered back together in the conference room where they were filled in on the new information.

"You have got to be kidding me." Morgan blurted out. "Now we will need to watch our own backs as we babysit the enemy."

"Let's pack up. We will head to New York as soon as she's been released." Hotch announced.

* * *

The unit boarded the jet and got themselves settled in. Rossi entered with Alex by his side. She was dressed in khakis and a black t-shirt. Her naturally wild hair was pulled back neatly. With these small changes she looked like a completely different person.

Rossi handcuffed her to the seat and then sat down next to her. The tension on the plane was evident. None of the usual small talk took place, everyone on guard. Morgan wasn't interested in listening to his music. He stared at Alex the entire flight, wanting to be on guard if something happened.

JJ and Prentiss tried to chat, but realized that they didn't want to talk about their personal lives where Alex may be able to hear it. Even Hotch was uncomfortable, but his attention was all on Reid who was sitting with his back towards Alex as he read a book.

Rossi decided to kill two birds. He wanted to get to know her, but also see if she would get comfortable and open up. "When was the last time you were on a plane?"

She stared out the window, fixated on the clouds. "When I was arrested. We flew back to the US, then I was locked away."

"I'm sure that was a long flight." Rossi said dryly.

"I've been on better trips." She politely smirked.

"I am going to get myself some coffee, do you want some?" He stood up from his seat.

"Sure." She didn't elaborate.

"How do you take it?" He stared at her.

"Oh, um, black, sweet." She then let out a small chuckle. "Just not as sweet as Spencer does." She remembered how much sugar he would put in his coffee as she shot a glance to the back of his head.

A couple minutes later, Rossi returned and handed her a cup. She took it into her hands and savored the aroma then took a sip. "Oh, this is good coffee. It's been too long since I've had a good cup." She shared.

"I'd prefer some espresso, myself, but it is still good." Rossi remarked.

Alex nodded and started to let her personality show. "I would love some espresso right now. I was just learning to appreciate good coffee before… but this is really good."

"Learning to appreciate? Was someone helping with your tutelage?"

"He was a good friend of mine. Or so I thought." She gave a subtle shrug. Alex then looked back out the window remembering the first time she met him.

 _Alex was sitting beneath a large tree as her back leaned against the truck with her legs laying out straight in front of her. She had a book-bag to her side and was reading a book while snacking on raw carrots._

 _A man, talking on his cellphone, was rushing through the park. He stumbled over Alex's legs. "Oh, I am so sorry." He said to her. "I am going to have to call you back." He then flipped his phone closed._

 _Alex stared at the handsome man standing above her and wasn't sure how to react. "Don't worry about it." She waved him off then picked back up her book._

 _He tilted his head as he read the title. "Oh, you studying Italian?"_

 _She gave a polite smile. "Yes, I am."_

" _How well are you doing?" He then realized that he was being nosy. "I'm sorry. I'm being rude again. I'm Gino." He extended his hand._

 _She met his hand and they shook. "Alex." She couldn't help but grin. He was charming, charismatic and he beamed at her. She was bewitched by him._

 _He then spoke to her in Italian. "Do you know more than phrases like_ the cat is on the chair?"

 _Alex laughed and responded in Italian. "Yes, I am fluent, but practice makes perfect."_

" _I have some time, if you want to practice. I was born in Italy. I'm sure I could help with some slang or other things that you would never find in a book."_

" _That sounds great." She gave him a motion to sit down._

 _They spent the next two hours speaking to each other in Italian while getting to know each other. Alex knew that she would fall in love._

Alex took another sip of her coffee. "I should have known to never trust an Italian." She smiled at Rossi. "After all, who better than you would know what I am talking about?"

Rossi leaned forward. "You know, normally, I would take offense to that. However, I have known plenty of guys from the old neighborhood who weren't the upstanding guys they pretended to be."

Alex smiled. "You know, you don't have to do the whole small-talk thing. I will sit here quietly if you need to do something else."

Rossi stared at her then leaned in closer. "You know, I have be racking my brain trying to figure out why you did what you did. Why you betray your country and worse, your friends. But I think I am starting to see why you did it."

"Oh, you got me all figured out now?" She asked, suspiciously. But then wondering if he really knew why.

"How long were you and Reid partners?" Rossi asked.

"Five years." Alex was curious where this was going.

"That's a long time to work side-by-side with someone. You have to have each other's backs. Trust each other with your lives."

"So." She looked again to where Reid was sitting then back to Rossi.

"I know that love can make people do crazy things. You gave up everything for Knight, after all." Rossi studied her.

"Yes, he was going to take care of me. No more lying to people about what I do or where I was going. No more guns or fighting. A big German thug broke my arm once, and I didn't want to have to do anything like that ever again. I wanted out and Knight was going to do that for me."

Rossi nodded. "Thank you."

"For what?" Alex was confused.

Rossi sat back in his chair then interlocked his fingers in front of him. "I now know the truth. I also know that everything you just told me was a lie."


	12. Chapter 12

Alex chuckled at Rossi. "You go ahead and draw any conclusion you want to."

"So, let me guess." Rossi started. "You quickly fell for Gino's charm. He was older than you and little by little he was taking care of you. And being an orphan, bouncing from one foster home after another, you never had someone take care of you before. You came to count on him. He had your loyalty." Rossi watched as her eyes were confirming everything he was saying. "Then something happened. You learned who he really was."

Alex wasn't even going to try and pretend that what he was saying wasn't true.

"So, when _did_ you find out?" Rossi asked. "And why didn't you tell Spencer? Your partner, your best friend?"

Alex looked down in embarrassment. "It was at an operations meeting. Parker pulled the team in to discuss a new target, an up-and-comer in the drug cartels. He was eliminating his completion and rising to the top quickly. That's when I found out the truth." She let out a sigh. "Gino, the man I was in love with... was really Harris Knight." She looked to Rossi with tears in her eyes.

"And you didn't tell anyone." Rossi gathered.

"I couldn't. I didn't know what to do. I was sure it was a mistake. I had to confront him. And when I did he came clean and told me who he really was." Alex shook her head. "I was so upset. I ended it with him. But I decided not to tell anyone and continued my assignments."

"You knew you were able to trust Spencer. Why didn't you tell him?" Rossi was curious.

"I was too pig-headed to admit he was right."

Rossi knew he was in. She had opened up to him. But he also knew there was more she was still keeping from him. He decided not to push too hard and wait for another opportunity.

Hotch looked to Rossi and met his eyes then gave a nod. Hotch pulled out his phone and dialed.

"Oh Captain, my Captain." Garcia announced as she answered.

"We will be making a stop there soon. Get a go-bag together." Hotch started.

"Will do, Sir."

"Also, we are going someplace that might not have cell service or will possibly have communication scramblers. I will need your help keeping us active."

"I will get everything ready."

"Where are you at with Alex's communication inside the prison?" Hotch asked.

"Still searching, I think I might have found a connection, but I want to be certain first. I should hopefully have an answer when you land." She reported.

"Thank you, Garcia."

"Over and out." She hung up the call.

* * *

The team landed and made their way into the BAU. Alex was put into a holding area under guard while the team began to assemble at the round table.

Garcia left her office and walked into the bullpen. She headed directly to Reid. "Hi." She uttered, then wrapped her arms around her friend. "I know a lot is going on right now, but it will get better, I promise."

"Thank you. I will be fine" He gave a subtle smirk.

She grabbed onto his hand and gave a squeeze. "We all have a past and sometimes we just aren't those people anymore. If you ever want to talk, I am here."

The two went into the conference room together. As Reid took a seat, Garcia picked up the remote. "Okay, I think I connected some dots. In six years Alex never had any visitors, let alone phone calls, or letters. I was going through some records, she never shared a cell with anyone, however she was able to mingle with the population. There was a fellow prisoner, Janice Blair." Garcia clicked on the remote and Blair's mugshot appeared. "She received a biweekly visit from a Daniel Bryant."

"What?" Reid asked, surprised.

"Do you know who that is?" Hotch asked.

"Yes, that's Charles Sullivan's cousin." Reid informed.

"Points to Boy Wonder." Garcia began. "So, after some digging, I found no obvious connection between Blair and Bryant. But, after these meetings started, Blair's mother started to receive $2,500 a month. Her mother also has custody of Blair's ten-year-old daughter."

"Why would Charles be communicating with Alex?" Rossi asked.

"He could be dirty, too." Morgan suggested.

"That's _not_ possible." Reid spoke up. He saw everyone looking at him with skeptical faces. "I understand how it looks. But we were all trained very well to keep secrets."

Morgan gruffed.

Reid ignored him and continued. "If he really was working for Knight, he would make sure nothing was ever tracked back to him. There has to be another reason."

Hotch turned to Reid. "Did you ever figure out anything with those letters that he left you?"

"No, not yet. I know I am missing something."

Hotch stood up. "Reid, come with me."

The two left the conference room and made their way to where Alex was being held. They entered the room and sat across from her.

Hotch stared into her eyes. "How long as Charles Sullivan been communicating with you?"

"He reached out to me a little over a year ago." Alex answered truthfully.

"To what end?" Reid asked.

"He was trying to help me."

Hotch tilted his head. "Help you, how?"

Alex interlocked her fingers and rested her hands on the table in front of her. "He said that he was onto something with my case and some big information regarding Knight. He was mostly asking questions. I gave him a lot of the same info that I gave you. It took a long time though, since I was only able to pass a sentence at a time."

Reid turned to Hotch. "Charles digging into that could have been what got him killed." He then looked back to Alex. "Is that how you knew about the letters?"

"Yes. He said that if ever anything happened to him that he would have four documents in an envelope to Spencer's attention. There would be a code to lead you to what he was able to find out."

Reid looked back to Hotch. "I will need to check out Charles' place. That's where I will find the code."


	13. Chapter 13

Hotch sent Morgan and Reid to Charles Sullivan's apartment to see what they would be able to find. The CIA had already done a sweep of his home. There was no crime scene tape or any evidence that anything had happened there.

Reid tried turning the door knob, but it was locked. He then reached into his shoulder bag and pulled out a small lock-picking kit. He then proceeded to open the door.

"Of course you have one of those." Morgan remarked. The agents entered the apartment. "So, what are we looking for?" Morgan asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I am pretty sure that I will know it when I find it." Reid glanced over everything.

They made their way into the study. Morgan noticed several pictures on a corner table. "Wow, just look at you." Morgan stared at a picture of Reid and Sullivan together. Reid's hair was short and professionally styled. He had on a light blue, short sleeved, button-up shirt with Bermuda shorts. "I don't think I've ever seen you wear anything like this."

"You haven't." Reid said sharply as he took the picture from Morgan's hands and looked at it. "Wait a second." Reid looked the date written on the bottom corner.

"3-5-79? You weren't even born yet." Morgan observed.

"This must be the code. Look for any other pictures of me." Reid looked at every picture he could.

After searching the place they found six different pictures.

"So, what does this all mean?" Morgan asked.

"I am not sure yet, I will have to figure it out. Charles loved codes and using formulas to hide secret messages."

"But you are good at those." Morgan remarked.

"Yes, but Charles was ten-times better." Reid flipped through the pictures and wrote down all of the number sequences.

Morgan stared at the pictures of the person he thought he knew. "Where was this one taken?"

Reid glanced at it. "That was after an assignment in Rio."

"Brazil?" Morgan couldn't imagine Reid blending in at the beach. Reid nodded. "Next you're going to tell me you speak Portuguese, too."

"Sim." Reid responded.

Morgan rolled his eyes and dropped the frame onto the table in a huff. "Just when I thought I've heard everything."

"I am sick and tired of your sanctimonious attitude." Reid practically spat on Morgan.

"Excuse me?" Morgan stood in shock.

"You act as if you were entitled to know anything and everything about me." He paused. "Yes, we are good friends… the best of friends. But let's put some things into perspective here. I never knew about Carl Buford either. Then, out of the blue, when it comes to light, that's when you tell everyone about him."

"That is not the same thing, Reid." Morgan snapped back.

"It was something that was a part of your past. It was something that made you who you are today. I understood why you wanted to keep that to yourself. I supported you and tried to not make you feel in anyway uncomfortable about it. It was your personal business. You, on the other hand, have done nothing but give me attitude, roll your eyes and make remarks under your breath.. That is not something a good friend does. So, you need to start showing me some respect or you won't have me as a friend anymore. Do I make myself clear?" Reid was stern and matter-of-fact with Morgan.

"Yes, perfectly." Morgan wasn't able to move.

"Good." Reid grabbed the pictures and left the apartment.

They returned to the car in silence. Morgan put the key in the ignition but didn't turn it over. He let out a sigh then turned to Reid. "I just gotta know."

"Know what?" Reid asked, unsure of what he was speaking of.

"You have to tell me about your life as _Secret Agent Reid._ " Morgan smirked.

Reid smiled back, knowing that he was finally coming around. "Well there was this one time..."

 _Reid snuck into the warehouse. "Okay guys, I'm in." He said over his mic._

 _The endless room was filled with large wooden crates that were stacked to the rafters. He searched high and low for a specific box. He then came to a small crate. He checked the markings on the side and confirmed that this was the box he was looking for._

 _After checking for any wires or triggers, he cafefully removed the lid. Inside was custom cut foam to fit the device he was after. He pulled out a small piece of equipment and held it gently in both hands._

 _His eyes widened when he heard a gun cocking behind his head. "Give me the device." The guard behind him ordered._

 _"Or what?" Reid asked, with his back to the thug._

 _"Or I will kill you." He threatened._

 _"I'm sure that sounds like a good plan, but this is highly volatile and if you shoot me, I will drop it and you will be dead, too."_

 _The guard moved his weapon and tapped Reid between his legs. "You won't need your friends to hold onto the device."_

 _"Okay, you can have it." Reid then threw the device high above them. The guard looked up and focused on the sensitive material. Reid quickly spun around and kicked him in the head. The man was knocked down and his gun slid across the floor._

 _Reid caught the device then kicked him square in the face knocking him out. "I have the device, I'm on my way." He reported to his team._

 _Reid ran back out the way he entered where Alex was waiting for him. "What took you so long?" She asked._

 _"I was dealing with a small problem." He then looked down at the four unconscious guards next to her. "I can see you had your hands full as well."_

 _"Nothing I couldn't handle." She smiled at her partner, then spoke into her mic. "Come on Hugh, we have to get out of here in a hurry."_

 _A moment later, a white, innocuous van came barreling toward them. The vehicle didn't even come to a complete stop when the door slid open. Charles was in the back and reached out his hand. "Come on, let's go!"_

 _Reid and Alex jumped in as Hugh peeled off. Two cars came racing after them. "Hang on, we've got company." Hugh announced as he agressivly drove away._

 _Alex looked a little nervous._

 _"Dont worry." Charles started. "Hugh is the best driver in the CIA." Then gave a wink._

 _"That's only because you haven't experienced Reid, yet." Alex countered._

 _"Do you hear that, Hugh? Sounds like we need to have a race!" Charles called out._

 _"Just tell me when and where." Reid announced._

Morgan looked to Reid. "So, you're a race car driver as well?" Morgan chucked.

"There's a lot about me you don't know." Reid grinned.


	14. Chapter 14

Reid had the dates, letters and pictures laid out on the table in front of him. He studied them trying to find a connection.

Prentiss sat down across from him. "Have you made any head-way yet?" She asked as she handed over a bottle of water.

He kept his eyes fixated on the paper. "No, not yet. I've tried several variations. But I am unsure of how it starts. I have tried by the dates written on the pictures, the dates the pictures actually were taken, when the letters were written. It is going to take me some time."

Prentiss leaned closer to him. "So, what do you think of Alex coming with us?"

Reid looked up to his friend. "I think she will be able to help us. I know she wants to."

"I am sorry for being skeptical, but how do you know?" Prentiss asked.

"I don't know. I just have a feeling that she is telling the truth." Reid was sincere.

Just then Hotch stepped aboard the Jet with Alex and Rossi close behind. After they all got settled, he rolled out satellite photos so everyone could see. "We are on our way to Hamilton. Alex will be assisting us." He shot a glance to her.

Alex leaned over to Rossi. "Do I get a gun?" She quipped.

"Don't push your luck." Rossi responded.

Hotch continued. "We are going to set up a base camp about a mile off of Harris' property, right about here." He pointed to the map. "Garcia has communication equipment with us to help keep us active." He then rolled out a close-up of the estate then turned to Alex. "Go ahead."

Alex moved closer to the table. She looked a Reid for a second then back to the table. "There are three main access points; here, here and here. There would be surveillance and guards doing patrol. He was majorly paranoid years ago, I can only imagine how he is now. He would love to make a spectacle by setting off bombs or other devices if he knew someone was striking. He also is heartless, and wouldn't mind if a few of his guards were taken out, too."

"He sounds like a peach." Rossi joshed.

Alex pointed to one of the entrances. "Here is the main access point, however you can't go through the door. There is a side door, that is the real entrance. But we would need an access code to get in."

"Where do we get the code?" Morgan asked.

"Usually the guard assigned to that door would have it." She looked up to him then to the rest of the team. "I suggest to be as stealthy as possible. Using weapons would only alert everyone. The more hand-to-hand combat to subdue them, the better."

"We will be prepared." Hotch announced. "Morgan, I want you and JJ at this entrance; Rossi, you and Prentiss will go with Alex will go to the main entrance to try and gain access while Reid and I will be at this one.

* * *

The team assembled at the base camp. Alex sat and watched as they all checked their weapons and put on their FBI Kevlar vests. Reid walked up to her and handed her one with the FBI label removed. "Here, this should fit you."

She gave him a meager smile in return. "Thanks, but I don't need it."

"Put it on, Alex. It's for your safety." He crouched down in front of her.

"Spencer, we have been in more dangerous situations than this, and I never needed a vest. Half the time I was in a dress, and had nowhere to hide my gun."

"And yet you always found a way." He smirked.

She let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, you're right."

Reid pulled over a chair and took a seat. "You know what I was thinking about? That car race Hugh and I had in the LA River."

"Oh my god, I haven't thought about that in a long time." Alex beamed.

Reid leaned back in his chair. "You know, I thought that Hugh was going to beat me there for a minute. But I thought quickly and pushed him up the side of the wash wall and peeled out in front of him."

"I know, Charlie and I were biting our nails the entire time. It was like watching _Grease_ live before our eyes." She smiled as they met eyes. "Go ahead, hand me the vest. I will do this your way."

"I want you to know something." Reid was building up the courage to tell her.

"Go ahead."

"I understand why you wanted to handle Harris on your own and not tell me. That's how you are; so headstrong that no one would be able to talk you out of it. I wanted to let you know that I can at least forgive you for that." Reid admitted.

"But not for everything else." Alex smirked, knowing that would be too much to ask for.

"I just can't understand why you would stay with him and help him even after figuring out that he lied to you. Then the way you described him to the team, it doesn't make sense why you would want to be with a psychopath." Reid showed his compassion, he truly cared.

"I know, Spencer." She let out a sigh. "I don't think I could ever explain it in a way for you to understand. But I promise that one day, I will try." She reached over and put her hand on his and gave a squeeze. For the first time, he didn't pull back and actually gave her a grin.

Hotch turned to everyone. "We will be leaving in just a few minutes."

Alex looked back to Reid. "So, how do you want to play it?"

He let out a small laugh. They never started a mission without asking that question. It became routine, their lucky charm. "Let's just get Harris." He stood up. "And to be safe."

* * *

Hotch and Reid darted across the field toward the back entrance with their weapons drawn but pointing towards the ground. They hid behind the brush as a guard approached.

"We have to do this quietly." Hotch whispered.

"I got this." Reid holstered his weapon and snuck out from behind the bushes.

"What are you doing?" Hotch tried to call out in a hushed tone.

Reid approached the guard and tapped him on the shoulder. The guard turned and went to grab Reid. He pulled the guard's arms down and kneed him in the chest then pushed him further down and used his elbow into the back of his neck then kneed him in in the face. The guard fell to the ground, unconscious.

Hotch stood up in shock as he watched Reid take down the guard before he was able to blink.


	15. Chapter 15

Rossi, Prentiss, and Alex stayed safely behind the brush. "We are in position." Rossi called over his mic. "Now we just have to wait."

Prentiss turned to Alex. "I bet you love this type espionage of stuff."

"Of course. It's one of the reasons why I joined the CIA. Although, I probably would never have made it too far if Spencer wasn't my partner."

"Oh? How's that?" Rossi asked.

"When we first met, he was a scrawny, little thing, and was younger than the rest of us." Alex started.

Prentiss and Rossi shot each other looks of not being surprised.

"High school is hard enough, add being a genius and being four years younger than everyone else. He had his fair share of problems. But when he was recruited to the agency, something changed. He was given coaching and understanding. Parker took him under his wing… he did that with all of us."

* * *

Hotch and Reid stayed hidden, keeping their eyes out for more guards. "So, I take it that you and Alex worked well together?"

"Yes, we clicked from the very first day we were assigned together." He laughed to himself. "She had a huge chip on her shoulder. She wanted to control anything and everything and thought she knew best."

"And yet she made a good partner? Someone like that usually isn't a team player." Hotch observed.

Reid nodded. "Typically, yes, but for some reason that wasn't an issue with us. She once told me that it was our quirks that made us work well together."

"Tell me about it." Hotch was curious.

* * *

Alex smirked recalling the first time she met Reid and told her story to Rossi and Prentiss while Reid did the same with Hotch.

 _Alex, Charles, Hugh, and Spencer sat patiently at a conference table. Parker walked into the room and stood at the head of the table. "Welcome. You are now all members of Section 6. An elite team of the best the CIA has to offer of its new recruits. Most of the time you will work as a team. There will be times when you will be split up. Charles Sullivan and Hugh Barlow will be one partnership while Alex Marcus and Spencer Reid will be the other."_

 _He then passed out packed of information to them. "Here is your first assignment." Parker spoke with Hugh and Charles explaining their part._

 _Reid looked to Alex. "Hi, I'm Spencer." He went to shake her hand._

 _She smiled back at him. "I don't mean to come off rude, but do you know how many germs pass to each other through shaking hands? They could lead to healthcare-associated infections."_

 _Reid laughed. "Lighten up, it's just a handshake, and trust me, we will be involved in things a lot worse." The partners connected hands and shook._

* * *

 _A couple weeks later... Under the cloak of darkness, Alex and Reid dashed across the rooftop dressed in black. They both crouched down in front of the A/C access panel. After checking to make sure the coast was clear, Reid quickly unscrewed the bolts._

 _With the panel removed, they started crawling through the air ducts. "I'm going to need a tetanus shot after this." Alex remarked with a sour face._

" _Suck it up." Reid scolded._

" _Wow, I am going to love working with you." Alex quipped._

 _They creeped through the metal tunnels making their way to CEO's office where they were assigned to plant a device. Reid pulled out a tiny telescope and stuck it through the vent. He nodded to Alex that the room was empty._

 _The vent cover was removed then a rope was dropped down to the ground. With the rope wrapped around his foot, Reid slowly slid down. Alex quickly followed._

 _Reid ran to cover the door as Alex installed the devise under the desk. "Someone is coming. We gotta go." Reid waited for Alex to get up first. After she was safely back inside the duct, he climbed up and replaced the vent._

 _They stayed still as a guard unlocked the door, he walked in and looked around. He found nothing out of place then locked the office back up as he left._

 _With the guard gone, they made their way back to the rooftop access point. Alex popped her head out, looked around then started to crawl out._

" _Alex, are you sure it's clear?" Reid asked._

" _We are alone, trust me." Alex stated. "Now where is Hugh with that chopper?"_

" _You might want to think again." A guard said as he pointed his weapon toward her face._

 _Reid snuck up behind him, put his hand over his face and pulled him back then punched him in the throat and dropped him to the ground. "Let's go!" He yelled to Alex._

" _Hugh, how far out are you?" Alex called over her mic._

" _Five minutes." Hugh responded._

" _You better make it three!" Alex demanded as she and Reid ran across the roof._

 _Before they knew it, a guard was on the rooftop chasing after them and firing. He was directly behind Alex and aimed his weapon at her._

" _Get down!" Reid shouted as they both crouched down. He pulled the knife hidden at this ankle and threw it to the guard, plunging into his chest. The guard instinctively threw his weapon and Alex reached out and caught it._

 _"Here comes two more!" She fired at the new guards rushing toward them. The guards were firing back at them as they were getting closer. Reid grabbed her hand as they ran toward the edge of the building and jumped to reach the neighboring rooftop. They picked themselves up and ran toward the helicopter as it landed. Charles opened up the door hatch then used his handgun to fire at the guards who were on their tail. Reid pushed Alex in then jumped in afterwards. Hugh took off into the air as the guards stood on the roof firing up at them._

 _Reid and Alex sat catching their breath. "Wow that was a rush." Reid chuckled._

" _Tell me about it. My body is all number from the excitement." She put her hand over her abdomen. "What?" Alex looked down to see her hand covered in blood._

 _Reid lifted up her shirt to see blood seeping out of her bullet wound. "Hugh, we need to get her to a hospital, now!"_

 _Charles turned around in his chair. "Here's the first-aid kit."_

" _Great, thanks!" Reid took it from him and put a bandage over her stomach. He then tilted her forward to see another hole._

" _What is it?" Alex asked, starting to panic._

" _It's a through and through. Don't worry, you will be fine. You would be in more danger if someone shook your hand." He joked._

" _You are a horrible liar... Thank you." She smiled knowing that he was trying to not make her concerned._

 _He wrapped his arm around her and held her close. "Don't worry, everything will be fine."_

 _She looked up at him and whispered. "I can't feel my legs."_

 _Reid noticed that her hands were shaking. "You're in shock. It is a typical response, we will be there soon."_

" _I have to tell you something." Alex started._

" _Tell me after you get out of the hospital." Reid knew she was trying to make a a kind of dying declaration._

" _Even though we have only known each other a few weeks. You have become my best friend. I can't imagine what this job would have been like without you." She then let out a groan in pain._

 _Reid held onto her tighter. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you… ever." Reid promised._

 _The helicopter landed and the emergency team were waiting with a gurney to take her to the trauma center._

 _Reid stood and watched them wheel here away as he stood with the rest of his team. He looked down at his shirt that was covered in his partner's blood, then back up to the elevator doors as they closed with her inside._

 _Charles put his hand on Reid's shoulder. "She will be okay."_

" _We need to report to Parker." Hugh reminded them as they boarded the helicopter and took back off towards headquarters._

All the teams were in position waiting for the right time to infiltrate Knight's Estate. Alex put her hand over the scar on her abdomen remembering that first mission. Remembering that promise Reid made to her.


	16. Chapter 16

"Where is this guard we are waiting for?" Prentiss asked Alex as she kept a look-out from behind the bushes.

"He should be approaching soon." Alex reassured them.

A few moments later, a guard walked by carrying a rifle in his hands, heading toward the door. Alex looked around the brush and leaves and picked up a broken tree branch and clutched it in her hand. "Stay here, I'll be right back."

"Wait, what do you think you are doing?" Rossi held onto her arm.

"I am going to get us access to the door." Alex crouched down.

"Okay, but I am going with you." Prentiss moved closer to Alex.

"You wanted my help because I knew this place. I know how to gain access, now you need to let me do my job." Alex stared at Rossi until he reluctantly nodded. She then turned to Prentiss. "If I step out of line, you have my permission to shoot me, okay?" She snarked.

Alex looked around to make sure no one else was coming then she snuck toward the guard. She creeped up from behind, placed her hand over his mouth and shoved the branch into his back simulating the muzzle of a gun. She then whispered in his ear. "Hey, it's Alex. I don't have time to explain. I'm here with the Feds to infiltrate. I need you to hand over your rifle to me."

The guard handed his weapon over and put his hands up. She then leaned back to his ear. "I am going to hit you, stay down and pretend to be unconscious." Alex did just what she said by smacking him across the face with the butt of the gun and he fell to the ground. She crouched down next to him, pretending to check for his pulse. She took the access card from his belt. "After I'm inside, make your way to the control room." She caressed his face. "It's good to see you, Sam." She then stood up and waved over Prentiss and Rossi.

Prentiss moved the guard's face and felt for his pulse then looked to Rossi. She then took the rifle from Alex as she handed it over.

Alex went to the control panel, swiped the card and entered a code. The lights changed to green. "There, all of the doors should be unlocked now. I put in a master reset code. We don't have much time."

Rossi called in the information to Hotch and Morgan.

* * *

Morgan and JJ stayed hidden as a guard walked past their entrance. "Rossi said the door _should_ be unlocked now." Morgan announced.

"Why do you sound so skeptical?" JJ asked.

"Because this is coming from her. I don't know about _you_ , but I don't like the idea that we are just supposed to trust her and be okay with it." Morgan confessed.

"I agree, but she has been pretty helpful so far." JJ tried to think positively.

"Yeah, or maybe she has something up her sleeve, and is just waiting for the moment to strike." Morgan grumbled.

* * *

Prentiss entered the estate first, took a quick look around then signaled to Rossi that the coast was clear.

They started down the hallway with Prentiss taking point. Alex then grabbed her shoulder. "Watch out." Alex stopped Prentiss from walking into a wall.

Rossi and Prentiss both looked at the optical illusion in front of them. The wall looked as if there was a hallway there. Alex took a step into what appeared to be a wall, but it was another illusion. Rossi and Prentiss followed.

"This place was built in the late 1800's. When Knight bough it, he had it changed to a maze inside with fake hallways, optical illusions, secret passages, the works." Alex explained.

"Why didn't you give us the details about this before?" Rossi asked.

"Because I am sure he has changed things since I've been here last. He is that paranoid. So, make sure you watch your back." Alex stared at Rossi.

"Come on, let's keep moving." Prentiss urged.

* * *

Reid opened their door, then he and Hotch both entered. With their weapons drawn, they walked down the corridor. There was a single door at the end of the long hallway. Reid tried the handle, and slowly opened the door. After seeing that there was no guard in sight, he took a step through the doorway. "That's weird."

Hotch looked and saw that they were standing in an identical hallway with another lone door at the end. Hotch took the lead and went to open the door. They both stood looking at a repeat of the same hallway. "What the hell is going on here?"

Hotch stood in the doorway as Reid went to the next door and opened. He then turned back to Hotch. "Did Lewis Carroll design this place?"

"I say we press on." Hotch took the lead as the agents continued to move through the never-ending hallway.

* * *

Prentiss came to the end of a hallway that split to two staircases, one going up, the other down. "What are our options?" She asked Alex.

"Knight could be upstairs. That's where his suite is. However, the command center is downstairs; it is possible for him to be there, too."

Rossi considered both options then back to Prentiss. "You head down and I'll go up with Alex. We will then report back in a few minutes."

Prentiss was hesitant to separate but agreed. Alex stayed behind Rossi as he led the way. The whole time she was remembering the hallway they were in. She had been there before. She stopped in front of a credenza and stared into the mirror that was hung on the wall.

Rossi turned back to her and softly called out. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry, I'm not used to looking into mirrors that often anymore." She waited for Rossi to continue moving, then she reached under the table and grabbed the pistol that was hidden there and stuffed it in her waistband and pulled down her shirt over it.

Rossi went to the end of the corridor to see closed, large French doors in front of them. Alex reached to her back and put her hand on the butt of her weapon but then released when Rossi turned around.

"Where do these doors lead to?" He asked.

"Toward Knight's suite." She then turned and felt along the walls.

"What are you doing?" Rossi was dumbfounded.

"Looking for the opening. I remember a hidden door, but I don't remember where."

Rossi looked at the opposite wall. "I feel like we are in an Agatha Christie novel." He remarked as he was feeling the wall for an opening.

Alex pulled out her weapon. "Don't move!" She demanded.

Rossi turned to look down the barrel of Alex's pistol pointed toward him.

She looked him directly in the eyes. "Don't move." She repeated. Then with a cold, determined look, she fired.


	17. Chapter 17

Rossi watched as if in slow motion a bullet launch from Alex's pistol and flew through the air right over his shoulder. He quickly turned around to see a guard fall to the ground.

"I told you to watch your back." Alex quipped as she walked past Rossi to make sure the guard was dead.

Prentiss arrived after charging up the stairs holding her glock in her hands. "What happened?"

"Your partner was almost killed." Alex stated, coldly.

"What is she doing with a gun?" Prentiss asked.

"And you should be grateful that I had it." Alex nodded toward the passageway the guard came through. "We should see where it leads."

* * *

Morgan and JJ followed the hallway to the ballroom. They made their way across the floor toward the other door. JJ continued to look behind them to make sure no one was sneaking up on them.

Morgan pushed open the door and pointed his weapon into the room. He then took a step inside and let out a yell as he fell through a trapdoor.

"Morgan!" JJ called out. She looked to through the hole in the ground. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm good." Morgan groaned. He stood up and looked around. "It appears that I landed in a storm cellar."

"Do you see a way out? A door?" JJ leaned over the opening.

"Not yet. I might have to climb out." Morgan didn't hear a response. "JJ?" Still nothing. "JJ! Answer me!"

JJ was being dragged away with her mouth covered as she struggled to try and get free.

* * *

Hotch approached the umpteenth door and paused before turning the handle. He let out a sigh and pushed open the door then paused.

"What is it?" Reid asked.

"A staircase." Hotch made his way upstairs with his glock in front of him.

"Hotch, do you read me?" Morgan called over his mic.

"I'm here, go ahead." Hotch and Reid stood still on the stairs.

"Do you have eyes on JJ? We got separated." Morgan looked around still trying to find a way out.

"No, we have been stuck in our own form of hell until a minute ago." Hotch looked discouraged. "Where are you at?"

"I have no idea. But I am trying to get out. Just try and find JJ." Morgan was worried.

"Let's go." Hotch told Reid as they rushed upstairs.

* * *

Rossi, Prentiss, and Alex made their way into Knight's suite. The walls were covered in large painted portraits but no one was there; there was no sign of him.

As the two agents searched every inch of the room, Alex stepped up to one of the paintings and pushed it open revealing a secret door. She rushed through the bricked wall tunnel and came out into the control room.

"What did you do?" She demanded to know from Sam as she saw JJ tied to a chair and gagged. She rushed to her side and freed her.

"She could be working for him." Sam suggested.

"She isn't with him, idiot. Now, none of the FBI agents are to be touched!" Alex scolded.

"How did you get here?" JJ asked.

"I took a shortcut." She helped JJ stand up. Alex then approached Sam. "So what's the word?"

"He's here. You need to be careful. I don't know how much longer I can keep him off your trail. He is coming after you next." Sam warned.

"You don't need to remind me." Alex watched the cameras to see Morgan searching for an exit. She pressed a button on the control panel. "Hey Morgan, its Alex."

Morgan stopped and looked around. "What's going on?"

"There's a large crate to your right, the side of it is actually a door. That is how you get out." She watched him stare at the crate.

"Why should I trust you?" Morgan balked.

"You don't have to. Stay stuck in there for all I care." Alex walked away from the panel. She then turned to Sam. "Give me her weapon." Sam handed over JJ's glock. "Here, sorry about that."

JJ inspected her weapon and found that it was still loaded. She kept it in her hand and didn't holster it.

"Come on, let's go." Alex started back through the tunnel.

"Where are we going?" JJ asked, following close behind.

"I'm bringing you back to your team. We need to keep moving." Alex picked up the pace.

"What's the rush?" JJ asked being skeptical.

"We are in danger." Alex responded.

* * *

Hotch and Reid made it to the top of the stairs. Hotch then saw a man in a suit walking away from them. "FBI!" Hotch called out.

The man rushed to a room and locked the door behind him.

"Was it Knight?" Reid asked.

"I don't know." Hotch shook his head. "I didn't get a good look at him." Hotch kicked in the door but the man was gone.

"Where did he go?" Reid looked around.

"Probably another hidden door." Hotch searched the room.

Reid noticed finger smudges on the mirror. He went over to it and pushed on the glass. The mirror then swung open revealing a brick wall tunnel. "Holy Fun House, Batman!" Reid chuckled.

Hotch titled his head and stared at Reid. "What was that? Did you make a joke?"

Reid thought for a second and nodded. "Come on, before he gets away."

* * *

"Damn-it, where did she go?" Prentiss asked searching the suite.

"We lost Alex, anyone see her?" Rossi called over the radio. But there was no response. "I think our signal is being blocked."

"Let's head downstairs; I think she could have gone to the command center." Prentiss led the way.

"Right." Rossi took one more look around then followed.

Just then a gun shot rang out loud enough that everyone could hear it.


	18. Chapter 18

Prentiss turned to Rossi. "That sounded close." After hearing the gunshot, they both rushed off. They found themselves in a large, banquet style dining room. At the head of the long table, a man in a suit was slouched over with his face lying on the tablecloth.

With their weapons drawn, they approached him. Rossi pushed him upright. "It's Harris Knight."

Prentiss looked at the bullet hole in his forehead. "Well, I guess he won't be answering any questions."

Morgan entered the room from the kitchen, behind them with his glock pointed at Rossi.

"Stand down, Morgan." Rossi put his hand up.

"What happened?" Morgan asked, seeing Knight.

"We just found him like this." Prentiss reported.

Morgan turned and pointed his glock to the wall. "Wait, I hear something."

A wooden panel on the wall slid open exposing a tunnel where Hotch and Reid appeared.

"We heard a gunshot." Hotch looked to Morgan.

Reid walked closer to the victim. "That's Knight, alright. Hey, Hotch, is this the guy you saw?"

"I can't be sure. I didn't get a good look. He was running away from me." Hotch admitted.

"You saw someone?" Rossi asked.

"Yes, it was only for a moment. It was a man in a suit, and we followed him into the tunnel we just got out of." Hotch pointed back to the secret passageway.

Reid looked around. "Where's Alex?"

"We lost her." Prentiss let out a sigh.

"Could she have done this?" Morgan already assumed she was guilty.

"What about JJ?" Rossi looked at the group.

"I feel through a trapdoor and then she didn't answer me." Morgan growled. "Alex has got to be behind this. She set this whole thing up."

"How's that?" Hotch stared at him.

"When I was trapped in the cellar Alex's voice came over a speaker."

"What did she say?" Reid asked.

"Well, she told me how to get out." Morgan didn't want to admit.

"If she wanted you trapped, then why would she help you escape?" Reid asked.

"I don't know." Morgan showed his frustration. "She betrayed her country, she betrayed _you_ , who knows why she does anything. I'm sure she shot Knight, too!"

"No, she didn't." JJ announced as she and Alex stood in the doorway. "She was with me when the gunshot went off." She then walked in to see that Knight was dead. "Someone else killed him."

Alex slowly approached her former lover. The group saw as she tried to fight back the tears. They took a step back to let me make peace with the situation, all while keeping a watchful eye.

She reached out and gently cupped his face in her hand. She had a look of shock and sadness which suddenly turned into hatred. She clutched the lapels of his coat and snarled at him. "I hate you! I just wish I was the one who got to pull the trigger!"

Reid pulled her off of him and carried her out of the room as she fought to be free from his arms. "Put me down, Spencer!" She demanded.

"No, I won't." He said, calmly. "Not until you stop struggling." She relinquished and he placed her down on a chair.

Morgan waited until she was out of the room then turned to the group. "So, if she didn't personally shoot him, she could have ordered it."

"I don't think so." Hotch confessed. "She looked genuinely shocked to see him dead."

"Some of the guards are working for her." JJ spoke up. "One of them hand me tied up and she had him release me. He kept saying how she was in danger because _he_ was after her and going to kill her next."

"Who?" Rossi asked. "Knight?"

"I could only assume they were talking about him." JJ said.

Hotch turned to Rossi. "Dave? You spent time with her. What do you make of all this?"

"I don't believe she came here to have him killed. But I can say that she had no love for him, at least not anymore." Rossi turned to the dead man at the table.

* * *

Reid pulled up a chair and sat across from Alex who was still agitated. "Tell me what's going on."

"I'm next." She said softly, while staring at the floor. "I can't have anyone else die because of me."

Reid could tell how guilty she felt. "What are you talking about? Alex, did you have Knight killed?"

"No." She looked in Reid's eyes. "I did not. I understand if you don't want to believe me. But I didn't do it."

Reid knew she was telling the truth. As much as he didn't want to trust her… he did. He wiped the tear from her cheek and remembered doing that before.

" _Alex?" Reid called as he knocked on her door. With no answer, he let himself in. He looked around the apartment to see empty Chinese good containers, pizza boxes with only bitten off crust, and an empty pint of chocolate ice cream with the spoon still in the container._

" _Alex? Where are you?" He entered her bedroom to see her sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall and clutching a pillow. Her face was swollen from crying._

 _She looked up to him and realized that she wouldn't be able to tell him the truth. She confronted her boyfriend that she thought was Gino Mancini and told him that she knew who he really was. She wasn't able to tell Reid about the argument that they had and why she was really crying._

" _Oh, honey, what's wrong?" He sat down next to her._

" _Gino and I broke up." Alex left it at that._

" _What happened?" Reid asked._

" _I don't want to talk about it." She then grabbed him and pulled him toward her. "Just hold me."_

 _Reid looked at Alex as she rested her head on his shoulder. He gently moved the loose hair from in front of her face to behind her ear. He then lightly wiped the tear from her cheek._

" _I hope I'm not interrupting." Charles announced as he stood in her bedroom doorway._

" _Of course not." Alex sniffled._

 _Charles walked in holding a paper bag in his hand. "I brought fresh croissants."_

 _Reid stood up. "I'll go make some coffee." He kissed her on the forehead, then got up and went into the kitchen._

 _Charles sat on the end of the bed looking down to Alex. "So, what happened? Why did it end?"_

" _I really don't want to get into it." She let out a sigh._

" _Come on, Ali, you were head-over-heels in love with the guy." Charles tried to nudge the truth out of her._

" _I had my reasons, okay?" She looked up to him with teary eyes._

" _Okay." He nodded. "I won't press it any further. But remember that you can come to Spencer or me if you ever need anything."_

" _Thank you, Charles." She smiled back at him._

" _It's okay. After all, I know how pig-headed you are." He said making Alex laugh._

" _Coffee's ready." Reid said._

 _The two helped her off the floor. Alex wrapped her arms around both of them. "I can't imagine my life without either of you."_

" _That's because we are family, now." Charles grinned at her._

" _And we love you." Reid added._

Alex remembered that day as if it were yesterday. She looked to Reid. "I really miss Charles."

"I do too." Reid nodded.

"He was killed because of me." Alex confessed.


	19. Chapter 19

Reid reached over and grabbed Alex's hand. "What are you talking about?"

"There is so much more going on here than you know about." She let out a deep sigh. "There is something… you need to know…"

"Everyone out!" Hotch yelled.

Reid stood up. "What's going on?"

"There's a bomb! Out, now!" Hotch ordered.

The team escaped the building, ran out a few yards all jumping face down and covering their heads. The building exploded behind them.

Alex stood up and could feel the raging heat on her face. "Sam!" She called out. She tried to rush back towards the burning building.

Reid grabbed her arm and pulled her down. He threw himself on top of her just as a secondary blast went off.

"Are you okay?" He asked, sweeping some of the debris from her face.

She looked into his caring eyes. "Yes." She whispered. She then looked back to the blaze. "What about Sam?"

"I'm sorry, I don't think he got out." He looked back to her. "Why didn't you tell me that Sam was still working this case?"

"I didn't know until I saw him." She stared as the fire engulfed the mansion.

Hotch helped the two of them up. Alex doubled over coughing. "We need to get you to a medic." Hotch held onto her. "Agent Rossi is going to take you to get medical attention."

"I want to go with her." Reid spoke up.

"No, I need you here for when we debrief the CIA."

Reid watched as Rossi walked away with Alex toward the base camp as the fire enraged behind him.

* * *

At the BAU, Hotch entered Erin Strauss' office to see her standing behind her desk, flipping through paperwork. She looked up to him and removed her glasses. "Would you please explain to me how an escaped convict who has been going on a killing spree was _killed_ as you were sent to apprehend him, and to top it off you don't know who did it?"

"We are still investigating, ma'am." Hotch started. "As I wrote in my report, Knight's estate was filled with secret passages, trap doors, et cetera. It was extremely difficult to navigate our way through."

"And yet you managed to find Knight moments after he was killed."

"Yes, ma'am." Hotch stood, statuesque in front of her.

"You also don't have his body becuase it was burnt to a cynder. So, we aren't able to conduct and autopsy."

"Agent Morgan discovered a bomb taped under the chair Knight was sitting in. We were barely able to make it out before the building exploded."

"And as of right now you still aren't even sure whether Alex Marcus had anything to do with his death." She folded her arms across her chest.

"No, not at this time. She is staying in our custody as we investigate." Hotch assured.

"Deputy Director Parker will be here shortly to escort Marcus back to her prison cell."

"I think that is a mistake."

"Oh?"

"I believe we are still able to get the information from her."

"Because she's been so forthcoming thus far?" Strauss sneared.

"If she wasn't involved, she still might be able to lead us in the right direction."

Strauss put on her glasses and looked at a report. "I see here that no one else survived the explosion, including an undercover agent, Sam Walker."

"That is correct."

"Another reason why the CIA should be investigating this mess."

Hotch took a step forward. "The CIA never disclosed that they had an agent undercover in Knight's estate. I know that there is more that they have been keeping from us. I would like to be able to get to the bottom of this and I know that Alex Marcus is a piece in this puzzle."

"This situation is already out of hand. My intention is to give this back to Director Parker. You have a stack of cases that needs the BAU's attention."

"I respectfully ask that you give my team a little more time on this case."

Strauss glared back at him. "Forty-eight hours, Agent Hotchner, and then this is back in the hands of the CIA."

"Understood, thank you." Hotch left her office.

Rossi looked Hotch up and down as he walked toward him coming down the hall. "It looks like Strauss didn't take any prisoners. So, where do we stand?"

"I convinced her to give us some more time. We have forty-eight hours then she hands this back to the CIA." Hotch appeared frustrated.

"Does that mean that Parker came all this way for nothing?" Rossi asked.

"He's here?" Hotch was surprised.

"Yes, in the visitor's room with Alex." Rossi pointed to the door behind him.

Hotch opened the door to see Parker standing in front of him about to leave. "Is there something I can help you with?" Hotch stared.

"Thank you, agent, I got what I needed." Parker walked past Hotch. "I am off to see your director now."

Rossi took a step closer to Hotch. "What's on your mind?" He asked with concern.

"The CIA has something up their sleeve. They wanted us on this case, and not to give a profile on Alex." Hotch shook his head.

"Do you think it has something to do with Reid?"

"That's what I'm afraid of. All I know is that Alex is in the middle of this and I still don't know what side she is on."

Hotch walked into the room where she was sitting alone at the table. "What did Director Parker want?"

"He was asking why Sam wasn't able to get out alive." Alex was still upset about him not making it.

"Why didn't you inform us that there was and agent inside?" Rossi questioned.

"I didn't know until I saw him. I wasn't even sure if he could be trusted or not. Like I told you before, Knight had a lot of guys on his payroll. Including G-Men." She glanced to Hotch.

"Let's Go." Hotch helped her up.

"Back to my cell?" She asked feeling that this was the end for her.

"Sorry to inform you that you are still in the custody of the FBI for a little while longer." Hotch announced.

Alex let out a sigh of relief.


	20. Chapter 20

Reid stepped off the elevator with a different spring in his step. His normally wild hair was slicked back and stylish. His vest was left at home. He had his messenger bag hung loosely over his shoulder instead of across his chest. He had one hand in his pocket while the other held onto his double espresso.

"Agent Reid." Parker called out as he walked toward his former employee. "I heard about the explosion."

"Yes, it was a close call." Reid nodded.

"I'm glad you and your team made it out okay. I'm especially happy that you were able to get Alex out, too. It would be horrible for her to get out of surving the rest of her sentence by dying."

Reid knew that Parker's disdain for Alex ran deep and simply nodded in response.

"Well, I will see you around, son." Parker tapped him on the shoulder then entered the elevator.

Rossi approached Reid from behind. "It's good to know that he doesn't hold any animosity towards Alex." Rossi said sarcastically.

"The man has no love for her after what she did." Reid confirmed. "So, what was Parker doing here?"

"He was here to take Alex back to prison; however she will remain in our custody for a couple more days." Hotch noted.

Rossi looked Reid up and down. "Are those Bacco Bucci shoes?" He raised his eyebrows and nodded. "The kid has expensive taste."

"At least your hair isn't in your eyes anymore." Hotch said dryly.

Reid gave a simple shrug in response.

"I have noticed that Parker's demeanor has changed, especially in regards to wanting to get Alex back to her cell." Hotch's eyebrows furrowed.

"Parker holds a lot of resentment towards Alex." Reid started.

"Well, that's understandable." Rossi added.

"Not only did she betray our team, but her being a double agent, right under his nose, well that got him into a lot of hot water with his superiors."

"It must not have been that bad, he is the Deputy Director, after all. You don't get that position if you are blackballed." Rossi pointed out.

"True." Reid nodded. "But he was determined. He wasn't going to let what Alex did ruin his reputation."

"Maybe you can help me understand something." Hotch started. "I am used to the CIA being elusive, but in this case it appears that we are purposely being left in the dark about details that we should be looped in on."

"That's not the CIA, that's Parker. He is notorious for not letting outsiders in. He did not want our help, I am sure that his superiors made him bring us him to assist. He will stop at nothing to get Alex back to prison now that we are no longer hunting after knight."

"But we are still hunting after Knight's killer. This case is far from over." Hotch reminded.

"You worked the case." Rossi interrupted. "Surely there are plenty of people that Knight pissed off enough to want him dead."

"Yes, there are. I will work on a list of everyone that could be a suspect." Reid eagerly added.

"Good, then get that list to Garcia as soon as possible so she can start running those names." Hotch directed.

"Will do." Reid said as he entered the BAU and headed toward the conference room.

Rossi turned to Hotch now that they were alone. "So, what has got those wheels in your head turning?"

"I am still trying to figure that out." Hotch left Rossi's side where he headed down the hallway. Moments later he stood in JJ's office doorway.

"Hey, Hotch. What can I do for you?" JJ dropped her pen on top of the file she was reading.

"I need you to locate someone for me."

"Okay, who?"

"His name is John McIntyre."

"Where should I look?" JJ asked.

"Langley." Hotch stated.

* * *

"Why hello there, Stud Muffin."

Reid looked up to see Garcia entering the round table room. "I thought you usually reserved those comments for Morgan." He quipped.

"I am going to make an exception in your case." She flashed a smile. "You called about a list of names?"

Reid nodded and handed her a piece of paper. "Yes, these are all the people who have or had a reason to want Harris Knight killed."

"I will punch them into my super duper computer once the update has finished installing." She looked down at all the paperwork on the table in front of him. "What's all this?"

Reid glanced over the mess he made. "I am trying to decipher the message Charles left me."

"I thought you could translate this stuff in your sleep."

"I am still missing one piece of the puzzle. All I can do now is try to figure it out by trial and error until I get the key." Reid let out a sigh.

"Well, you will always be my Boy Wonder, even if you are a little more Knight Wing lately." She chuckled then waived it off. "Oh, never mind."

"Knight Wing: The new super hero name taken on by Dick Grayson, formerly Boy Wonder, also known as Robin." Reid stated.

Garcia beamed. "I love this pop culture knowing Reid! So, how can I help?"

"Okay, I am going to read off a series of letters, you write them down and we will see if we can form anything from it."

"What exactly are we looking for?" Garcia asked.

"In one of the documents Charles left for me the word 'guilty' was underlined and I know that it wasn't part of the original letter… because I wrote it. So I believe we are looking for a name and this person will be guilty."

"Guilty of what?"

"I don't knew, I guess we will need to figure that out as well."

"I'm ready, give me the letters." Garcia stood in front of the white board with a marker in her hand. She wrote groups of letters down as Reid spouted them out.

Reid flipped back and forth through the pages and looked back at the pictures hoping to find a clue. Garcia could see that the frustration was getting to him. "So, how are you doing now that Alex is back in your life?"

"I think I am past the initial uncomfortablilty. But it's still weird. On the one hand, she was a huge part of my life, my best friend. But on the other, I don't think I can ever forgive her for what she's done."

"I totally get it. If I ran into my ex after this long, I don't know how I would be able to handle that. We are in two different worlds now. I'm a different person than the one he fell in love with. He would actually hate to find out that I work for 'The Man'." She chuckled.

"Yeah, but Alex and I weren't dating, we were partners." Reid corrected.

"Oh honey, I've seen the way you two have looked at each other. There are deeper feelings there than either one of you care to admit."

Reid couldn't hold back his smirk. "Maybe that's why I can't stay mad at her. Maybe she had a good reason for what she did."

"That's true. Anything is possible." Garcia looked at the letters she just wrote. "Unless you know someone named DIBNIF, I think we need to move on."

Reid rearranged the numbers then came up with a new sequence, okay try U-A-R-M-S-C.

Garcia wrote them on the board.

"Wait." Reid stared at the letters and saw them rearrange in his head. "That spells Marcus, as in Alex Marcus!" He looked shocked. "Charles was trying to tell me that she is the one that is guilty!" He was disappointed. He hoped that there was a mistake, that maybe they could actually make peace. But he knew now that could never happen.


	21. Chapter 21

Garcia stared at Reid in shock. "Maybe it's a mistake. After all you said there were multiple variations of what these numbers could mean."

Reid shook his head. "No, this is the answer. It was wrong of me to get my hopes up; that I would be able to reconcile anything with her."

Garcia was going to continue to fight her case but knew he was not in the right frame of mind to listen.

Hotch enter the room. "Where are we with that list of suspects?"

Garcia quickly glanced between Reid and Hotch. "I am sure my computer has finished updating. I will go work on narrowing that down."

Hotch noticed how uncomfortable she was as she walked past him. "Is there something I need to know?" He asked Reid.

"No, only that Alex shouldn't be trusted." Reid replied, showing signs of hurt feelings.

Hotch tilted his head as he looked at what Garcia and Reid had been working on and putting it all together for himself. "Remember that our main focus is finding out who killed Knight."

"Yes." Reid nodded in response as he started to clean up his paperwork.

Hotch then made his way to the interview room where Alex was with Rossi. "Where are we at?" Hotch asked as he stepped into the room.

"Almost done." Alex reported as she continued to write down the last few names. "Here you go." She slid the page across the table to Rossi who then handed it over to Hotch.

"And this is _everyone_ you can think of that would want to have Harris Knight killed?" Hotch's eyes narrowed.

"Yes. The list includes everyone that the CIA knew of as his enemy and anyone that he had told me about."

Rossi looked confused. "Wouldn't it have been easier to kill him while he was in prison? Why wait until he escaped and on the run?"

"Wasn't he in solitary?" Alex asked.

"Hotch looked at her but didn't answer her question then looked back to Rossi. "Unless someone didn't need to kill him until he got out. I am going to get this list to Garcia to work on it." He left leaving Alex alone with Rossi.

Rossi watched as she fidgeted with the pen in her hand. "What's on your mind?"

"Do you think you can answer a question for me?"

"That all depends."

"On what?"

"On the question you are going to ask." Rossi folded his hands in front of him.

Alex let out a sigh as she focused on her fingers as they rested on the table. "How was Charles killed?"

Rossi thought for a moment, thinking of the best way to break it to her. "His wife discovered him. He was shot execution style in their home." He decided the blunt way was best.

Alex blinked allowing the tears to spill down her cheeks. She controlled her breathing then cleared her throat. "And how is his wife doing?"

"She is in protective custody… doing as well as she can."

Alex nodded.

Rossi studied her. "It wasn't just Reid that you betrayed."

"I know that. Spencer and Charles were like my own brothers." She replied with pain in her eyes.

Rossi leaned back and crossed his arms. "And what about the fourth member of your team, Hugh?"

"Hugh was definitely part of our group, he just liked to keep to himself. The three of us would be laughing and having a good time while Hugh would be in the corner reading a really old book in a foreign language. But when the time came for us to do our job. The four of us worked together like we could read each other's minds."

 _Alex snuck around the outside of the building to where Charles had two laptops hooked up to the power boxes and was typing frantically. "I took care of the patrol. So we only have a few minutes before we have more guards snooping around." Alex reported. "How much longer?"_

 _"Not too long. Spencer is still inside making the switch." Charles remained focused on what he was doing._

 _"You mean he still isn't done yet?" Alex was worried. "We don't have much time."_

 _"Don't worry, we are right on time. Now, once I get the signal from Spencer I will have exactly 90 seconds to override the system. I won't be able to stop once I start, so you will need to keep guard." Charles reminded._

 _"Will do." Alex turned her back to Charles to keep her eyes fixated on the surrounding treeline._

 _"Here we go." Charles announced as he heard from Spencer and worked on hacking the system._

 _Alex noticed a guard approaching. Even though she had her sidearm, they wanted to stay stealth. As he walked by, she tripped him. Then as he laid on his back, she knelt over him, used sixty pounds of torque and broke his neck. "That's one."  
_

 _Alex stood up to see that now a barrage of guards were heading toward her. She fought them off one-by-one. "Please tell me it's been 90 seconds!" She yelled while flipping a thug over._

 _"Not yet." Charles replied, focusing on his work._

 _She noticed a man lurking behind the trees, she went after him but didn't know she was headed into an ambush. As she approached the man, another appeared behind her and grabbed her arms. The first goon started to hit her repeatedly._

 _Alex closed her eyes anticipating the next blow that would never come. She opened her eyes to see the man who was hitting her fall to the ground. The one who was holding her arms turned around to see a bullet go into his head. She let out a sigh of relief. "Cutting it a little close there, huh?"_

 _"And you were worried?" Charles flashed a smile. "Come on, let's get out of here." He grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him. They folded up the laptops and put them back into their cases. "We need extraction." He called over his mic. He reached for her again and they ran out of the brush in front of the building waiting for Hugh and Spencer._

 _A helicopter started down in the clearing that was ahead of them. They ran for it, threw the cases in then each jumped in. "Spencer?" Hugh asked._

 _"He's coming!" Alex yelled._

 _Hugh moved the helicopter back up into the air as Alex threw out the rope ladder. Reid ran out of the building, tossing a grenade behind him, taking care of the goons following after him. He rushed toward the lifting chopper. He reached out and took hold of the rung to the ladder as the vehicle launched into the air. He climbed up and entered the cabin. "So, what have you all be up to?" Reid asked with a chuckle._

 _Hugh turned to him. "You are certifiable, you know that, right?"_

 _"What else is new?" Reid smirked. "Hey, did you guys see..." He turned around to see Alex laying down in Charles' lap as he was cleaning up her bloody face. "What the hell happened?"_

 _"It's just a scratch." Alex down-played her injuries._

 _"Don't worry, I'm taking good care of her." Charles assured his friend._

Alex looked to Rossi. "You know he held my hand until we landed safely."

"I can see how much you care about your former team. One might wonder why you would risk everything to betray them." Rossi observed.

"And you?" She asked.

"I already know." He assured her.


	22. Chapter 22

Hotch sat in Director Strauss' office waiting for her to arrive to their scheduled meeting. He glanced at his watch again just as she entered her office.

"I am sorry to keep you waiting, but I was actually stuck in a meeting involving you." She remarked as she approached her desk.

"Oh?" He asked, puzzled.

"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get more time for Alex Marcus. Deputy Director Parker will be here this afternoon to personally escort her back to prison." Strauss broke the news gently.

"Thank you for trying." Hotch appeared surprised at her efforts to help.

"For what it's worth, I hate when the government agencies can't work together. I abhor the CIA's obvious lack of collaboration in this matter. After all, we were called in to assist in this case." She paused, knowing that she shouldn't discuss politics with her subordinate. "What headway were you able to make?"

"Not much. We looked into the list of suspects that we had. However, we were only able to rule them out. Alex will still be very useful to help us find answers." Hotch explained. "But I appreciate everything you tried to do, ma'am." Hotch gave a nod and left her office.

Hotch needed to make one more stop before going back to his office.

"What can I do for you?" Garcia asked as she swiveled around in her chair.

"Alex will be escorted back to prison today. I need you to keep tabs on her. I want to know anyone who visits her, calls, writes, anything. Also, look into the guards that are assigned to her block.

"Yes sir. Uh, may I ask why?" Garcia was curious.

"I am not giving up on this case." He simply stated, then turned to leave her office.

* * *

Hotch stood outside the holding area knowing that Parker would be there soon to pick-up Alex.

Rossi slowly walked toward his friend with his hands in his pockets. "I take it that Erin wasn't able to be much help."

"No." Hotch shook his head. "She did try though." Hotch raised his eyebrows.

"This isn't right. We still need Alex's help on this case. She knows the answer to this riddle."

"I know. But there is nothing we can do about it. We have been given our orders. I have to follow protocol." Hotch stated, being a slave of duty.

"What have you heard from McIntyre?" Rossi asked.

"I haven't yet." Hotch was interrupted by two men in black suits approaching with Parker leading the charge.

"Hello, gentlemen. I am here for my prisoner." Parker announced, looking smug.

A moment later, Alex was being escorted down the hall in handcuffs. She shot a quick look to Rossi then looked back to the ground as she walked. She knew this was the last bit of freedom she would ever have.

Rossi had a sinking feeling, unable to do anything.

* * *

Reid leaned back in his chair, fiddling with a pencil between his fingers. He knew Alex left hours ago. He wouldn't allow himself to go see her. He was wrestling with that decision even though there was nothing he would be able to do about it now. She was gone and he was never going to see her again.

He opened up some case files, trying to distract himself but soon realized that he wasn't focusing on anything that he was reading. He closed the folder and leaned back in his chair again.

Suddenly, he heard the alert on his computer, signaling that he received a new email. Reid thought this was odd, since he only received emails while they were on a case. He went to investigate.

There, in front of him, was a message from Charles Sullivan. "What?" He remarked. He then opened it. A simple picture of a sunset appeared on his screen. No message... Only a picture. Reid grabbed his bag and rushed to Garcia. She was the only person who would be able to help him.

"Hey, Sugar. You doing okay?" She asked as he stormed into her office.

"I need you to help me with something." He placed his bag down on the floor and politely pushed her aside to get access to her computer. He logged into his email and showed her the picture. "I just received this."

"Huh, that's weird. Maybe it was sent by his wife?" Garcia guessed.

"That is possible, of course. But why the sunset?"

"Could it be code? Did you two have some kind of connection or history involving a sunset?"

Reid shook his head. "No, I can't think of anything."

Garcia did some poking around. "This picture is way too big."

"What do you mean?" Reid asked.

"Ah ha. Just as I thought. There is a file imbedded in it." She clicked to reveal a message.

 _Spencer, I knew this day would come. Sorry, I didn't tell you about what was going on but I was trying to protect you. I asked Sondra to send this to you after she was safe. I hope you found the clues I left for you. I have also attached to this message the code to decipher it. I wish I could tell you more but I am still playing this safe in case this fell into the wrong hands. I trust you will figure it out! -C_

"So I was right. His wife did send it." Garcia observed.

Reid picked up his bag and pulled out the information Charles left for him. He flipped through the letters and the pictures. He used the key and wrote down the corresponding letters. He looked up at Garcia with his mouth open. "I was wrong."

"Why? What's it say?" Garcia asked anxiously. She then looked down at the piece of paper. "Parker? As in Deputy Director Parker?"

"Garcia, what did I do?"

"Wasn't it Parker who escorted her back to prison?" Garcia was worried. "I need to check something." She pushed Reid out of her way and typed frantically on her computer. "Oh no, we need to go get Hotch." Garcia looked up to Reid.

"What's wrong?"

"She hasn't been logged back in at the prison." Garcia announced.

"That means that Parker still has her."


	23. Chapter 23

Director Parker placed his hand on top of Alex's head as she was getting into the back of a black town car. He then shut the door. She adjusted herself the best she could with her hands cuffed behind her back as the metal pressed against her wrists. She knew no position was going to be comfortable.

She let out a sigh then stared out the window and thought back to a time before she was in handcuffs.

 _Parker stood in front of his team, giving them information on their next assignment. "Charles and Hugh," he started, "you will infiltrate the offices and hack the computer while Spencer and Alex will be at the party posing as a couple."_

 _Charles winked at Reid._

 _Parker finished laying out the details of their mission as they listened intently. "Any questions? Good. Let's get to work." He closed his folio then left the room._

 _Alex turned to Reid. "You better get me a better ring this time. The one that I wore in Boston was a joke."_

" _Yeah, it was pretty cheap." Charles laughed. "I thought you had better taste than that."_

 _Reid became defensive. "Hey, it's not like I pick these things out."_

 _xxx_

 _Reid entered the gala wearing a brand new tuxedo with Alex on his arm looking like she was dipped in red velvet. They seamlessly fit in with the other party guests as they each sipped their champagne._

" _Do you see our mark?" Alex whispered to Reid._

" _Yes, he is at the other side of the room." He answered as he scanned the ballroom._

" _How do you wanna play this? Atlanta?" Alex smiled as she breathed on his ear, then kissed him on the cheek to keep up their cover._

 _Reid's face scrunched. "Didn't I end up locked out on a patio… naked?"_

" _And that would be a problem?" She chuckled._

" _Yeah, very funny. You know, we could play it like we did in Mexico." Reid countered._

" _That's mean." Alex swatted him across the chest. "I was so sick after that mission. Serves me right for drinking too much."_

" _I told you not to get a drink with ice. Maybe next time you will listen to me."_

" _I guess I can't be too mad at you after that one. You were the one who took care of me." Alex beamed at him._

" _It's okay. I needed a new pair of shoes, anyway." He joshed._

" _Oh, still bringing that at up. I didn't mean to throw up on your precious hand-made, Italian shoes that were blessed by the pope himself." She sassed._

" _The pope wouldn't bless shoes." Reid stared at her._

" _Shut up."_

 _Reid took a breath and realized that they needed to get back to work. "Okay, how about Australia?"_

 _Alex thought for a moment. "Yes, that works." She smiled and finished her wine._

 _Reid took the glass from her hand then placed both empty glasses on the table. He offered her his hand and escorted her out onto the dance floor. They swayed back and forth to the music, portraying the perfect couple._

 _Alex glanced at the ring on her finger as her hand was resting on his shoulder. "You know, this ring is perfect." She remarked as a smile swept across her face. "I can't believe it, actually."_

" _What?" Reid questioned._

" _Honestly, it is exactly what I would pick out for myself." She admitted._

" _I know." Reid held her close as they continued their dance. "It's yours if you want it."_

 _Alex pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "What are you talking about?" She stared and could see exactly what he was thinking. "You're serious."_

" _I know how it looks with you recently breaking up with Gino but that made me realize something."_

" _Realize what?" She asked with dreamy eyes._

" _We have been fighting this for as long as we have known each other. Neither one of us has wanted to cross that line because of our partnership… our friendship. But I realized that it is because of those things that makes us perfect for each other."_

" _Spencer. Please." Alex became uncomfortable._

" _You can't deny it. I have felt it from you. Alex, I know you love me too." Reid held her hands in his._

 _Alex let out a deep breath. "Spencer, I suggest that we both forget this conversation and continue with our mission."_

 _Reid knew that she was fighting her feelings for him but he wasn't sure why. He did as she suggested and they continued with their assignment without complications._

 _They walked out of the gala without socializing with each other like they normally would. Alex changed her demeanor towards her partner while Reid let her. Their limonene pulled up in front of them, silently they got into the car and drove off._

 _Reid looked at the driver through the mirror. "Take me back to the office."_

" _Yes, sir." The driver responded._

" _I will report to Parker with Charles and Hugh. You head home, okay?" Reid suggested._

 _Alex glanced at the driver's stare then she looked back to Reid. "Yes, that is a good idea. I need to get out of these heels." She let out a tiny laugh._

 _After a short ride, Reid stepped out of the long black car leaving Alex alone. The driver then took off._

 _He peered at her through the rear-view mirror. "You didn't do anything stupid, did you?"_

" _Of course not." Alex replied with attitude._

" _You don't want to cross Mr. Knight. He has eyes and ears everywhere. If you betray him he will not only chop you into little pieces but he will be taking some big chucks out of your friends, starting with your partner." The driver warned._

" _Don't worry. I know what is at stake. If I feed information to him, then we live. If I don't, then Spencer dies. Trust me, I'll be your good, little minion and do what I am told." She crossed her arms while staring out the window then whispered to herself. "I will do anything to keep Spencer alive, anything."_

Alex sat in the back of a government town car as she was being escorted back to her prison cell. She stared out the window and remembered that moment in the limo as if it were yesterday.


	24. Chapter 24

Reid and Garcia rushed into Hotch's office.

"What is it?" He asked as he promptly hung up the phone.

"I got a secret message from Charles; it was 'Parker', not 'Marcus' like I figured out before. I was wrong." Reid spouted out quickly.

"Yes, and I checked and Alex was not registered back into prison yet. Parker was the one who picked her up. He has her. Parker is a bad man." Garcia added with extreme anxiety.

"We need to go before it is too late." Reid urged in a panic.

Hotch held up his hand, breaking their ramble. "Hold on, calm down. I am not saying that Director Parker isn't an upstanding human being, but I can't go to his superiors or ours with information about a cryptic message left for you by your former teammate who isn't even in the CIA anymore. Go get me some information and I will personally lead the charge. But until then, my hands are tied."

Garcia turned to Reid. "I'm going to see what I can find out." She rushed off to her office.

Reid shuffled back to his desk but was unsure of what to do, or where to start looking. He replayed conversations he had with Parker from years ago, trying to come up with some kind of clue.

Prentiss studied Reid's restlessness as she watched his foot twitching. "Hey, why don't you get some air or something?" She suggested.

"I'm fine." He snapped.

She stared at him with her mouth open. "I was just trying to help."

His shoulders loosened as he closed his eyes. He let out a deep breath then looked at his friend. "I'm sorry. I just feel helpless."

"I know some people with connections at Interpol. Let me make some calls and see what I can find out, okay?

"Thank you, Emily. " He stood up. "I think I will take your advice. I'm going for a quick stroll, to try to clear my head."

Reid made his way downstairs and out to an open courtyard. He approached a maintenance worker who was enjoying his smoke break. "Hey, mind if I bum one of those off of you?" Reid asked motioning to the pack of menthols.

The worker looked him up and down then pulled the half-empty pack from his chest pocket and handed Reid a cigarette then returned to his duties.

Reid took a long drag and blew out the smoke slowly.

"I would never have pegged you as a smoker." Morgan took a few steps towards Reid.

"There's a lot you don't know about me."

"No kidding. I have been trying to decipher fact from fiction when it comes to your past."

Reid put out his cigarette in the ashtray next to him. "I don't need this right now."

"I get that. I am only interested in helping my friend right now." Morgan responded sincerely. "Garcia told me that you are worried about Alex and that Parker didn't return her to prison. I don't get it. Why do you care? What happened with this girl to turn you so upside down? She betrayed you by literally sleeping with the enemy. Why are you trying to protect her?"

"She was more than just my partner. She was my friend, one of my best friends." Reid sat down on a cement bench. "The last assignment Alex and I had together was to finally take Knight down. She was able to get him alone and then I was supposed to take him into custody. But Knight was waiting for me. He used Alex as leverage and said that there were several bombs in the building with over a hundred people as possible victims. He then kidnapped her so he could escape. The building exploded. Thirty-two people lost their lives. I searched for her but was unable to get to her in time. For the next two weeks I wasn't eating, I wasn't sleeping, I didn't know if she was alive or dead. We were finally able to get a lead and when I tracked them down she was in bed with him." Reid looked disgusted as the words came out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry, man. That is a lot for someone to go through."

"All that time I wasted worrying about her and she was playing me for a fool. And yet there was one thing that I have never been able to figure out."

"What's that?"

"I don't know why she did it. I tried to convince myself that it was about the money. But she never spent any money she had. She grew up in foster homes and learned to save her money and how important it was. She was extremely frugal. Alex used to talk about how horrible her life was before joining the CIA. She always said that Charles and I were her new family. She wouldn't just betray that. I knew how much that meant to her. It never added up. It never made sense to me."

"You had feelings for her and she knew that."

"What do you mean?"

"She was playing you. Even after all this time you are still doubting her motives. Alex is smart and knew that you would be trying to justify what she did." Morgan tried to point out her deception.

"Hey Morgan." Prentiss called out as she walked toward the courtyard. "Hotch is looking for you."

"Thanks." He responded to her then turned back to Reid. "I am here if you need to talk." He then walked past Prentiss back into the building.

Prentiss made her way to Reid and sat down next to him on the bench. "So, how you doing?"

Reid looked more confused than before. "I am not sure."

"I couldn't help but overhear some of your conversation with Morgan. For what it's worth, I think he is wrong."

"Are you saying that you don't think she is working the long-con on me?" Reid asked in a cynical tone.

"No I don't." Prentiss shook her head. "And I will tell you why. I was watching her very closely. Anytime we were on the jet and especially when we were going on that op at Knight's estate. Alex wouldn't take her eyes off of you. Particularly when she thought you weren't looking. If anything I think she was trying to hide her feelings from you."

Reid shrugged his shoulders. He had so much information come at him, he wasn't able to process it all.

"I may not know you as well as the rest of the team, at least for not as long. But I know you well enough to trust you. If you say that she is in trouble and we need to help, then that's exactly what we will do. I have faith in you, Reid." She put her hand on top of his and squeezed.

"Oh that's me." Prentiss pulled out her ringing phone. "Oh, this is one of my Interpol contacts. Tsia, were you able to find out anything? Can you send that to me? Great. Thank you." Prentiss ended the call.

"What is it?" Reid asked.

"We have an update on Parker."


	25. Chapter 25

Garcia walked with Reid toward the conference room. "Were they able to give you an update?"

"No, I even spoke to the warden and she will be calling me back once she knows anything new on Alex's location." Reid informed.

The team took their seats at the round table to get the latest information.

Prentiss had a stack of documents that were sent to her from her contacts at Interpol. Most of the information was a duplication of what the FBI was already able to gather. However, they did send over pictures that weren't seen before. JJ put the pictures on the TV. They were staring at surveillance photos of Knight and Parker.

"At the time, they weren't able to identify Parker in these pictures." Prentiss started. "Now that he has moved up in the CIA, he is impossible to go unnoticed. This footage was taken from the CCTVs in London. But there is no record of Parker entering the country or leaving the US for that matter at the time of this meeting."

"He must have used and alias." Morgan spoke up.

"With his connections, getting forged documents would be extremely easy." Reid added.

"And that's where I come in." Garcia took over. "I looked extensively through Parker's financials and there is nothing hinkey. There were no connections to off-shore bank accounts, no red flag withdraws or deposits. So anything elusive is going on somewhere else, but not in his personal accounts."

"Are we looking at Parker as a possible suspect in Knight's murder?" JJ asked the team.

"That is a possibility." Hotch confirmed. "As evidence by these pictures, there was a relationship between them."

"Could he have been the person you saw in the suit at Knight's estate?" Reid asked.

"As I said before, I didn't get a good look at him, but yes it could have been him."

"That could explain why Knight was killed after he escaped." Rossi noted. "Parker had to clean up Knight's mess."

"Let's refocus and look more closely at Parker. I would assume everything he told us was part of a plan." Hotch explained.

Everyone's attention turned to Reid as his phone rang. He pulled it out but didn't recognize the number calling. He looked to Garcia. "This is probably the warden calling me back." He then answered the phone. "This is Spencer Reid." He put his finger in his ear to be able to hear better. "What?"

"Spencer. Help." The voice on the line whispered.

"Alex?" He asked, suspecting that it was her. He then put the phone on speaker so the others would be able to hear.

The team remained still while listening to the phone call except for Garcia who was already trying to trace the call on her laptop.

"Spencer. Golden Gate Bridge." Alex whispered again.

"Alex, where are you? What's happening?" Reid stood up.

"I have been taken to..." Alex then let out a yelp.

"Where did you get that phone?" A man yelled.

"Alex?" Reid yelled but the call was disconnected. Reid stood there in shock staring at his phone, hoping it would ring again. He then attempted to call the number back but it went straight to voicemail.

"Were you able to get anything?" Hotch asked Garcia.

"I'm working on it." She typed furiously. "I've been able to trace it to Virginia so far. I am trying to get a more precise location."

"What is with the _Golden Gate Bridge_?" Prentiss asked.

"Could they be in San Francisco?" JJ looked puzzled.

"No, it's code." Reid announced.

"Code for what?" Hotch inquired.

"It was what we always used for when we were in trouble and needed help." Reid had a million thoughts running through his head.

"How did she get your number? Did you give it to her?" Morgan questioned.

"No, I didn't." Reid looked up to him confused.

"I did." Rossi announced. "What?" He replied to everyone looking at him. "The kid and she have a lot of unresolved things to work out."

Garcia finished typing. "I'm sorry, the best I could do was get it to a thirty mile radius to Roanoke."

"There's a lot of forest area there." Morgan pointed out.

"What do we do?" Prentiss asked Hotch.

"We are going to Roanoke. You are coming with us, Garcia." Hotch picked up his paperwork. "Wheels up in thirty."

* * *

Garcia walked down the hallway with a few bags over her arms.

"I don't completely understand what you want me to do." Kevin Lynch followed after her.

"I can't be in two places at once. So, you will have to do, sweetie." She continued walking. "I need you to be here to help me do the hackery things I need to do."

"Okay, I will finish looking into the money until you update me." Kevin told her as she stepped onto the elevator next to Morgan. "Be safe." He called out.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of her." Morgan assured him as the doors closed.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Kevin said to himself standing in front of the elevators.

"Are you going down?" Reid asked as he approached Kevin from behind.

"Ah, no, um, no. Go ahead. I should be getting back." Kevin pointed down the hallway then took off in that direction.

Reid stepped into the elevator and closed his eyes where he heard the ding of the elevator bell from his past.

 _Reid sauntered off of the elevator and turned down the long hallway of the Omni Hotel in San Francisco. He passed by Alex who was dressed as a maid pushing her cart. He approached the room. He inserted a magnetic card into the slot then used a device to unlock the door. He quickly looked to the left then to the right, after the coast was clear he entered the room._

 _He was able to see in the darkness from the lights of the city coming into the hotel room. After he spotted the briefcase by the desk, he rushed towards it. Reid opened it and swapped out the disks. He closed it and returned it back to where it was._

 _As Reid headed out, the door to the adjoining room opened. The man coming into the room pulled out his .45 revolver and pointed it at Reid._

 _Reid put his hands up then shot a quick glace to the view of the bay. "What a view, huh? Did you know that there was an earthquake in 1935 before the Golden Gate Bridge was completed? It swayed sixteen feet both ways. There were at least twelve guys stuck at the top of one of the towers holding on for dear life until it stopped shaking. Isn't that amazing?"_

 _"What the hell are you talking about, kid?" The man with the gun was confused._

 _"I was just remarking on one of the most well known bridges in all of the world. And here we are enjoying this fantastic view." Reid stated calmly._

 _"I don't know who the hell you are but you are going to start talking... and not about some stupid bridge." He shouted._

 _"I would, but I think that is going to be a little bit difficult."_

 _"Why is that?"_

 _The glass from the window shattered startling the man. Reid hit him and grabbed the weapon. "That's why." He hit him again and the man laid on the ground unconsciously._

 _Reid ran toward the open window frame. He saw the rope that Alex had for him. He climbed up and met her in the room directly above where he was moments ago. "Well, took you long enough."_

 _"I knew you could handle yourself." Alex teased._

 _"How did you know that I needed help?" Reid asked._

 _"As soon as you started babbling about the bridge. You never spout out random facts like that." Alex laughed. "I must confess, I did it more just to shut you up."_

 _Reid let out a chortle. "Well, next time I hear about the Golden Gate Bridge, I'll come running."_


	26. Chapter 26

Alex's unconscious body was carried over the shoulder of a hired gun. He followed his boss into a storm room. Alex was set down in the corner of the dirty, old space. Her hands were bound in front of her. She had a black eye and a split lip, a direct result of her calling Spencer.

Alex could hear Hank barking orders at the other two. She knew he had to be the one in charge. She wasn't fully coherent yet to comprehend what he was saying. She tried to ignore the pain and listen to them before they were aware that she was waking up. Suddenly she felt a pain to her leg as she was kicked by Hank. "Wake up."

Hank crouched down so he could look her in the eyes. Alex's messy hair fell in front of her face. He brushed some of the strands from her cheek. Alex pulled back and shot him daggers.

Hank smirked. "I love the fieriness." He let out a chuckle. "We are going to go on a little trip." He cut the zip-tie at her ankles. He then stood up and headed back to his two henchmen.

Hank was tall and had his long, curly hair pulled up and tied into a knot. He hadn't seen a razor in over a week and needed one. The other two were obviously ex-military men under contract. That wasn't good. These men were trained to be the best of the best, they know how the government operates, but they don't have any regulations or accountability. They did appear to be subservient to Hank. That could be a good thing or a bad thing. Alex would need to figure that part out.

Alex's hands were tied in front of her and they were raw from her previously struggling to break free. She looked down to see that her shoes had been removed. She glanced in her immediate surroundings but wasn't able to located them.

"Alright everyone, lets mount up." Hank announced as he secured a large hunting knife into his boot then picked up his 9mm X-TAC handgun and put in the holster at his hip. "Let's go, princess."

Alex realized that her shoes were removed for a reason. This was a tactic to keep her from running away. After a mile walking in these woods her feet will be torn to pieces.

* * *

JJ was the last to board the jet feeling frustrated. She sat at the table across from Hotch then let out a sigh.

"It didn't go well?" Hotch assumed.

"I've been getting the runaround. I have been speaking with Parker's administrative assistant. She confirmed that he did pick up the prisoner for transfer but then returned to headquarters and has been in meetings all afternoon. And of course I am unable to speak with him now because he was called away to an urgent matter with his director. It's been a red tape nightmare." JJ vented.

"It's a classic shell game." Rossi pointed out. "He gave himself plausible deniability by having someone else return Alex back to prison. Since he wasn't the one who did it and she is now magically missing, he can't be held accountable."

"But we know the truth." Hotch spoke out.

"So what are we looking at here? Is Alex going to be okay?" Garcia asked the team.

"There are two possibilities." Morgan started. "Alex knows some kind of information that they need and having her being in prison isn't going to help them."

"That's good, that means that they will keep her alive." Garcia's smiled but then it dropped. "What's the other possibility?"

"That she knows too much and they will make sure that she won't be able to tell anyone what she knows." Hotch pointed out the hard truth.

"Then I need to get to work." Garcia opened up her laptop and started clicking away.

Rossi was studying Reid who was sitting alone on the other side of the jet. He got up and walked towards him. As he got closer he could see that Reid was rubbing the inside crease of his elbow where he had injections scars hidden underneath his shirt.

"What's on your mind, kid?" Rossi asked as he sat down.

"I just hope we're not doing the wrong thing." Reid admitted.

"In what way?" Rossi tilted his head.

"She played me before, am I being foolish in thinking she wouldn't do it again? What if she and Parker are working this together?" Reid never looked up to Rossi.

"Let me ask you something... If someone approached you six years ago and threatened Alex's life, would you do anything to save her?" Rossi asked already knowing what he would say.

Reid looked up and stared him in the eyes. "Of course I would. She was family." Reid confessed.

"Now, what if that actually happened...only it was the other way around?" Rossi tapped the young agent on the knee as he got up and returned to his previous place on the jet leaving Reid to mull that over.

* * *

Alex stumbled over the rough foliage and debris as they hiked through the wooded area. Her hands were still bound together which made it difficult when she needed to break her fall, which unfortunately happened quite often. She followed behind Hank, trying to not straggle too far behind. One of the other henchmen was close behind keeping an eye on her. If she fell he would stand next to her and demand for her to stand back up.

"Why isn't Parker here himself leading this charge?" Alex snarked.

"I don't know who you are talking about." Hank responded.

"Your boss, the one that hired you." Alex stared at him with a confident look.

"My employer is none of your concern, now keep up, we have a long way to go and you are slowing me down." Hank ordered.

"I would move faster if I had my shoes." She mouthed off.

Hank stopped and faced her. He then smacked her across the face with the back of his hand. "That was for wasting my time." He struck her again. "And that was for being disrespectful." He turned and continued to charge on.

Alex knew exactly what she was doing. She had taken beatings before, she could handle it. She wanted to see where Hank's pressure points were and how hard she could push. In a way she was grateful for the pain in her face, it distracted her from the terrible throbbing pain in her cold, bloody feet.


	27. Chapter 27

Alex trudged through the woods following behind Hank to the best of her ability. Dusk was approaching and she worried about going any further with the dropping temperature and low visibility.

She squinted her eyes trying to focus on what was in the distance. She thought she could make out a building behind the trees. It seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

After making their way closer she could see that it was a log cabin. It looked typical for the surroundings, worn and rustic. Alex half expected to see an old, toothless man to come out with a shotgun. But it was quiet except for some nearby birds chirping.

Hank pulled out his sidearm and grabbed Alex as they entered into the cabin. She was shocked once they were inside. She quickly turned back around from where they entered then looked back at the modern, high tech living area. It was a designer home with that looked nothing like its rugged exterior. She noticed that all of the furniture was focused around the grand fireplace. It was quite a feat of masonry. The gorgeous red bricks filled the wall form the floor to the ceiling with a six foot long hearth. She could understand why someone would want to stare at it and get lost in the ambience.

Hank moved her in front of the sofa and pushed her down then walked into the kitchen. She sat there and could hear them rustling around but wasn't able to see what they were doing. One of the henchmen stood by the door and kept his eyes on her.

"Ron, start a fire." Hank called out.

The man got to work quickly stacking the logs up and getting them lit. Moments later, Hank came towards Alex with a basin in his hands. After putting it down in front of the sofa, he looked up to her and in a sweet voice said, "Please, sit up."

Alex was taken aback by his demeanor. He was different than the man who beat her and made her walk barefoot through the woods. But still she didn't trust him. She looked down at the clear liquid before her. It most likely was water… but what if it wasn't. A million thoughts and worries ran through her mind. _Could this be an acid or alcohol? Is this salt water?_

Hank reached for her foot. Alex was hesitant but allowed it, fearing what would happen if she denied him. She prepared herself to feel the worst but as her toes dipped into the large bowl, she was surprised to feel warm water soothing her raw feet.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked.

He didn't answer and gently put in her other foot. He looked up to her then got up and left her to stare at the roaring fire.

Enough time had passed for her to feel comforted by her feet soaking when Hank returned. He picked up her feet as if they were fragile pieces of art, patted them down and wrapped them.

Hank let out a deep breath then looked at the woman he held captive. "I live and work by rules. I make things very easy, you follow my rules and you will be okay. If you do not follow my rules, you will be punished. I am sure that you have learned that stealing phones and making calls is against the rules."

Alex stared trying to read him but his own face and emotions contradicted each other. He was speaking softly and tenderly to her but there was malice in his eyes.

He looked past her to one of his cronies and snapped his fingers. Hank caught the blanket that was thrown at him then handed it to her. "You should get some sleep. We are going to have a busy day tomorrow."

Alex wanted to ask what tomorrow would bring, but she was extremely tired and needed to rest. She had to trust that she would be safe for now. She had to.

* * *

The team entered a Roanoke police station where JJ used her magic have access to their facility while working on this case. The police captain was more than willing to help, if there was an escaped convict in his town, he wanted her caught.

Hotch wasted no time to go into an empty office and placed a call to Parker's office. After going through several people and bureaucracy he was finally connected.

"Deputy Director Parker." He answered his phone.

"Director Parker, this is SSA Hotchner. I was hoping to have a few minutes of your time, if I may sir."

"Of course, agent, what can I do for you?" Parked asked leaning back in his office chair.

"As you may know, we had a few follow-up questions for Alex Marcus, however when we spoke with the prison she was never processed back in. And since she was released into your custody, naturally I am checking with you on her whereabouts." Hotch said succinctly.

"Yes, I had heard about that. I believe your girl, Agent Jareau called my office about that. Unfortunately moments after we left Quantico I received a call regarding an urgent matter of state security and was not personally able to return her to rot in jail. But I can assure you that the CIA is on top of this matter and will reach out to you when she will be available to you for those follow-up questions of yours. You have a good day now." Parker stated as he hung up the phone.

Hotch appeared uneasy as he stared at the receiver in his hand. He then noticed that Reid was standing on the other side of the door. Hotch motioned for him to enter and hung up the phone.

Reid came in and took a seat. "I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?" Hotch interlocked his fingers as his hands rested on the desk.

"I wanted to reach out to Hugh Barlow."

"You're old teammate from the CIA." Hotch properly deduced.

"Yes. I am worried about him. Parker assured us that he contacted him and offered him protective custody. I just wanted to reach out to him to see if that was the case. I want to make sure he and his family are okay and offer him protection." Reid was anxious.

"Technically we aren't working an official case to offer custody for. But make contact and we will go from there." Hotch was reassuring. "Where is he living now?"

"In London."

Hotch nodded. "I still have some contacts in London, if I need to have this off the books, then I will." He stood up. "I'll leave you to make your call."

Reid waited until the door was shut then picked up the receiver and dialed his friend's number. "Hello, Hugh? Its, uh, Spencer."

"The Prodigal Son has returned." He snarked. "I was wondering when I was going to hear from you." He said in an mild snide tone.

Reid shifted in his chair, feeling the discomfort. "Yes, I know, I'm sorry I haven't reached out until now. But, um, I called to see if you heard about Charles."

"Yes, I did." Hugh's voice turned more earnest. "Parker contacted me shortly after it happened. He told me about Knight escaping and that we were all potential targets."

"That's why I am calling. I wanted to see why you aren't in protective custody."

"I don't need that, Spencer. We are safe. But to err on the side of caution, I have reached out to some friends who are doing some surveillance."

"I can help more than that. I have some connections, I can help keep you and your family safe." Reid insisted.

"Trust me, we are okay. I am more worried about you. I want to make sure you are safe." Hugh said sincerely.

Reid thought about filling in his old friend on everything that happened, that Knight was dead and that Parker could have possibly done it... about Alex. But he decided that it wouldn't be best at this time. "I do trust you." Reid conceded. "But if you change your mind, please call me."

"Of course." Hugh paused. "You know Charles told me what he was doing."

"What do you mean?" Reid inquired.

"He was trying to prove that Alex was set up. The last I heard, he was very close to it but didn't have all the pieces yet."

"Why wouldn't he tell me that he was working on that?" Reid was hurt.

"Charles didn't want to bring you back to it until he had some hard evidence. You know, I can't help but wonder if searching for that is what got him killed."


	28. Chapter 28

Alex laid asleep on the sofa as the ignited log slowly burned down. The sun started to shine through the windows as the men holding her captive rustled around the cabin.

Alex was then abruptly awoken by one of the men standing over her and clapping his hands next to her face.

"Wake up!" He shouted.

She sat up on the sofa and tried to smooth down her messy hair with her hands still bound.

"She's up." He called out.

"No kidding, Jake." Hank snapped back.

"Now we can get started." Jake smarted off.

Alex was studying Hank's demeanor. He appeared frustrated by Jake. Hank moved over to Alex and took a seat in front of her. "Now, we got off on the wrong foot yesterday. I would like a fresh start. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes." Alex meekly replied.

"Good." He slapped his hand down on his leg, above his knee while steadily holding a handgun in the other. "I just have a few questions for you and then our business is done. My employer wants his money and he said that you were going to help me get it."

"I'm sorry, but I don't know who your employer is or what money you're talking about."

Hank closed his eyes, very upset. "I informed you of the rules. When I ask you a question you are going to answer it honestly. Now, where is the forty-five million dollars Harris Knight was hiding?"

Alex couldn't believe what she heard. "I honestly do not know about any money he hid." She responded in a calm tone.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that." He looked downward then with one swift motion he smacked her across the face with the butt of his gun.

Alex closed her eyes and instantly noticed the familiar copper taste in her mouth. She touched her hand to her lips and rubbed the blood between her finger and thumb. She then looked coldly back up to him.

"I need to know where the forty-five million is!" Hank barked at her.

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Please don't insult me. You are a smart woman, I am sure that you know that I am a man who gets what he wants. And what I want is the location of that money."

"That bitch is not going to tell you." Jake snapped towards Hank.

Hank shot him a look that could kill which made Jake took a step back.

"Listen, I don't know anything about any money. Besides, I've been locked up for six years, trust me, I don't know anything." Alex tried to reason.

"You were a trained agent in the CIA, in the presence of a known criminal. I am sure you kept your eyes and ears open for information."

Alex didn't argue. It was true. She did spy on him as much as possible. She discovered account numbers and information about his aliases. But even with all that intel she didn't know about that much money being stashed away.

Hank stood up. "I am going to give you a few minutes to jog your memory. Then maybe you will be able to help yourself by helping me.

Alex was left alone to stare at the smoldering embers before her. She didn't have to think about where the money was. But all that was on her mind was how she got into this mess in the first place.

* * *

*** Seven Years Earlier... Somewhere in Europe***

Elis Parker was comfortably sitting in a large arm chair reading a newspaper in a luxurious hotel lobby.

Harris Knight steadily approached and sat in the empty chair next to Parker who kept his eyes on the paper he was reading.

Knight placed his briefcase down on the ground between the two chairs. "Anything good in the paper today?"

Parker handed him a pre-folded section of a newspaper all while never taking his eyes off of the print in front of him. "I have provided you a picture and information on your mark." Parker informed.

"Very pretty." Knight remarked. "What's my way in?"

"She doesn't have any family. She is also studying Italian, which works for you since I know you are fluent."

"Why her?" Knight questioned.

"Because I said so." He snapped. "Now, let's talk money."

"I brought you a taste." Knight tapped on his briefcase. "And from now on we are partners."

"Fifty-fifty." Parker agreed. "And once you have her in your clutches, the CIA will never be able to take you down." He assured him.

Knight stared at the candid photo in his hand. "Alex Marcus, prepare to meet Gino Mancini."

"But there is one thing you need to watch out for."

"What's that?"

"Do not let the others on her team meet you, especially Spencer Reid. He is the only one that could ruin this." Parker picked up the briefcase Knight came in with, tossed his newspaper on the chair and walked away.

Knight stared at the picture of Alex in his hand while rubbing his finger over her face and lips.

* * *

The team filed through the small conference room, including the police captain, where Garcia was seated at the head of the table with her open laptop in front of her. "Gather around, crime fighters, I have some news for you."

They took their seats giving her their full attention.

"I was desperately trying to find some way to track Alex's whereabouts, however I kept hitting walls. Like no matter where I turned there would be another wall, and then another wall..." She rambled.

"Garcia." Hotch wanted to get her back on track.

"Sorry. So I figured out that I needed to look at this from another angle. I turned my attention to Parker. I have been digging like crazy to find something, anything that could help us. I went through his call log and found that he has placed several calls from the Roanoke forest area over the past few months."

"Were you able to pinpoint the location where the calls were coming from?" Reid asked, eagerly.

"No, I'm sorry. Considering the terrain we are lucky to get the information that I got." Garcia reported.

Hotch and the captain approached the area map. "What can you tell me about this area?"

"There are some remote cabins here, here and here." The captain pointed out. "You might need to get a park ranger to help you with that area."

Hotch focused on the team. "We will split up and search the area. We leave in ten minutes."

They got up and filtered out of the room.

"Could you reach out to the rangers for me?" Hotch asked the captain.

"Sure thing." He exited the room leaving Rossi behind with Hotch.

"Do you think it's wise to split up?" Rossi asked.

"The area is quiet extensive, we will need to split up to do a more effective search." Hotch continued to study the map.

"Yes, under normal circumstances, but do you think it is wise at this point? Do you think Reid's head is in this?" Rossi questioned with concern.

"I'm not sure. That's why I am going to team up with him to keep an eye out."

* * *

Reid snuck away from the rest of the team and headed outside to the black SUV. He reached for his go-bag then looked around to make sure no one was watching him. He then took out a small, black zipper back and opened it. His hand clutched a sig sauer P224. He strapped it to his ankle. He pulled out other tools of his former career and armed himself.


	29. Chapter 29

Alex leaned back on the sofa fighting the desire to close her eyes. She had counted all of the 482 bricks in the fireplace, twice. She turned again to see Ron sitting in the corner watching her. Hank and Jake had left the cabin but she didn't want to be caught off guard when they returned. She once again played the song _Crazy_ in her head for the umpteenth time.

Just as Alex began to drift off, the door blew open with Hank returning. The wind howled as snow flurries entered the cabin. Jake had to lean against the door to get it to close. Hank removed his jacket and sat back down in front of her. "I hope you have given some thought to our discussion earlier."

"I am sorry but I can't help you with something that I don't know about."

Hank raised his hand but then clenched his fist. He stood up and leaned against the fireplace mantel. "I have tortured before but I know that you were trained to withstand such things. So I will not be wasting my time." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his closed hand. Then his grip loosened and a small, silver box dangled by its silver chain.

Alex couldn't take her eyes off of the bauble he flaunted. "Where did you get that?"

"That is not important. What is important _is_ what it is." Hank smirked.

Alex was confused and made no effort to hide it. "It's just a necklace."

"But it isn't just a necklace." He pushed the tiny button on the long side revealing a small key that was inside. "I wonder what this goes to." He remarked holding it up.

"It doesn't go to anything; it's just a necklace, a keepsake." She protested.

"And you bought yourself this... keepsake?" Hank asked.

"No." She responded with her eyebrows scrunched together.

"It was a gift... from my family."

"Oh I see. So now you are _Little Orphan Annie_ and this was the locket your parents left for you saying they would return for you one day?" He said in a condescending tone. "Cut the shit. Harris Knight gave this to you, right? You started to wear it in January, so I am guessing it was a Christmas gift from him? You wore it all the time. Obviously this key is important!" Hank was showing hostility towards her and waiving the locket around as he spoke.

Alex was taken aback by all the details he knew. "I'm sorry, but it is just a key." Alex expressed her frustration with the subject. "It doesn't open anything. It was just a charming piece of jewelry that I liked to wear." Alex thought this entire conversation was pointless and that they were grasping at straws. She was tired of playing this game. She was trying to cooperate as best as she could, in hopes of getting out of this mess. That didn't seem to be working and she started working on a new plan.

* * *

JJ and Prentis tromped through the newly fallen snow. JJ appeared frustrated as they searched for any dwellings in the area.

"What's wrong?" Prentiss asked.

JJ let out a sigh. "I guess I just don't understand how we got into this mess. We're out here in the freezing cold on a hunch."

"Garcia is usually pretty accurate about her hunches." Prentiss explained. "But I don't think this is about searching for Alex. You're thinking about Reid."

"Of course I am. He has been one of my best friends and now I don't even know who he is. He's been behaving differently. Dressing differently." I just don't know who he is anymore." JJ allowed her emotions to vent.

"He's still your friend. He never lied to you about that." Prentiss kept hiking through the frosty terrain.

"What's with you?" JJ asked.

"Me? What are you talking about?" She stopped and looked to her.

"You have been the first person to justify what he's done."

"And what has he done? He was in a situation where he was unable to speak about his previous assignments. You of all people should understand that, JJ. As much as we may not like it, we have to adhere to protocol and work within our boundaries." Prentiss stopped then let out a small smirk.

"What?" JJ was curious.

"That's what Rossi told me when we were handling that anthrax case." Prentiss slowly let out a deep breath and took a step closer to her friend. "Look, I get it, it sucks; and right now there is some confusion. I bet you Reid is more confused than any of us right now. He tried to keep this all in the past but it came back to haunt him. It always does. We all have things that we want to stay buried."

"So, you have a secret life, too?" JJ asked jokingly.

Prentiss scoffed. "Of course not, but I have had my fair share of covert assignments. Things I wasn't able to talk about or wanted to share. All I'm saying is that I understand why he did what he did. The reasons are his own."

"I just don't think I could ever do that." JJ remarked as they continued their search.

"You say that now, but one day you will be read-in on some super-secret assignment and you won't even be able to talk to Will about it; and you don't because you know the ramifications if you do." Prentiss touched JJ's arm.

"Well, I hope that day never comes." JJ grinned as she squeezed Prentiss' hand.

"Come on, that looks like a cabin up ahead." Prentiss pointed out.

"Let's hurry, this wind is getting really bad." JJ followed.

Both women removed their weapons from their holsters. They steadily approached the cabin. Prentiss peeked into the window then signaled JJ to go to the door. With Prentiss now behind her, JJ turned the door handle and found that it wasn't locked. The two of them nodded to each other; JJ pushed opened the door.


	30. Chapter 30

"FBI!" Prentiss called out as they stormed into the dark and drafty dwelling. The agents pulled out their flashlights and held them in tandem against their glocks. Prentiss quickly covered her mouth as she let out a scratched cough. "There is at least an inch thick coat of dust around here." She observed as she moved her light around the empty space.

"Judging by the cobwebs, I don't think anyone has been here in a long time." JJ agreed heading toward the far end of the cabin.

Prentiss came back out from checking out the side room. "There is a bed and a bathroom, if you can call it that. They haven't been used in a very long time."

"The canned goods expired in 2005." JJ remarked with raised eyebrows. She placed the dated cans back down where she picked them up and continued to search the area.

"We can mark this place off our map, this isn't what we are looking for." Prentiss moved back towards the door.

"I hope we find it soon. If it gets any colder we are going to have to call this search off." JJ then tightened her coat under her chin and gave her partner a nod to open the door. They both prepped themselves to go back out into the harsh climate.

* * *

Alex awoke from a dreamless sleep when she heard the men arguing in the back room. She took advantage of the situation and kept her eyes shut trying to decipher what they were talking about.

"That bitch is playing you!" Jake blurted out to his boss. "She knows what that key is for and she is holding out. Probably keeping all the money for herself."

"When I want your opinion, I will ask for it." Hank sneered.

"The time is running out and we are going to need that money, or else." Jake softened his voice but his frustration continued to grow.

"I am well aware of our time constraints. We will get our money. You just need to continue to do what I say." Hank playfully slapped his face as a reminder.

Jake leaned into Hank. "That key has got to open something in this place."

Alex thought about that key as she stared into the roaring fire and drifted into her past.

 _The roaring fire on Alex's TV screen from the Yule log program played Nat King Cole as she settled in to her comfy chair with a bowl of soup in her hand. A smile crossed her face as she enjoyed a delicious spoonful of clam chowder. A knock at the took her by surprise._

 _She had placed the bowl down on the table and made her way to the entry where she looked through the peephole. After letting out a sigh, she unlatched the door and opened it toward her. Reid walked through holding a small gift in his hand. "Merry Christmas." He made his way into her home._

 _"Merry Christmas." She replied as she stared at the box covered in shiny, green paper._

 _"I know we agreed 'no presents' but considering all that you have been through lately, I wanted to get you something." He made his way to her sofa and took a seat. "Go ahead and open it."_

 _Alex glanced at him skeptically and gave in. She sat next to him and tore through the paper to reveal a white gift box. She gave it a quick shake. "Well, it isn't broken." After slowly opening the lid she was in shock. "It's beautiful."_

 _Reid reached over and pulled out the silver locket by the chain and held it up in front of her. "You see this etching? It is the Marcus Crest."_

 _"Oh my God, Spencer." She remarked as she took it into her hands. She then discovered the fastener on the side and unhooked it. "What is this key for?"_

 _"For something special." He beamed._

 _She lightly smacked him across his chest. "You goof."_

 _Reid picked up the chain and unhooked it then relatched it around her neck. "See, it was made for you."_

 _She touched it with the tip of her fingers. "It is wonderful... Oh yeah!" She jumped up from her seat and ran into her bedroom. Moments later Alex came out carrying a large wardrobe box. "Here, this is for you."_

 _"I thought we agreed to 'no presents'?" He asked holding the box in his lap._

 _"Shut up and open it." Alex laughed as Reid ripped through the paper like a child._

 _He pulled out a messenger bag. "Oh, I absolutely love it! I've always wanted one of these."_

 _"Now you would look stylish when you walk into work." Alex remarked feeling the texture._

 _"Thank you." Reid reached over and gave her a hug._

 _Alex knew in that moment that she was happy. "This is the best Christmas, because of you."_

"Because of you, I won't get my money!" Jake yelled, snapping Alex from her memory. "I've been seeing the way you've been treating her. You have a soft spot for her and you can't hide it. You better get your shit together and snap out of it."

"Get her up!" Hank snapped. His demeanor changed, a new fire was ignited under him.

Jake went to Alex where he grabbed her arm lifting her up from the sofa. After she was upright, on her own two feet, Jake pushed her toward Hank who pulled her into the bedroom and slammed the door shut. Ron stood with his back towards the door. Jake crossed his arms staring at the wall as if he could see through it. They both could hear blows being thrown and Alex's yelps.

After a few moments of silence Alex let out painful screams while Ron stared blankly guarding the door.


	31. Chapter 31

Rossi stopped his hike and embraced the snow that was floating down around him. "You know that sometimes we can lose sight of things and take them for granted."

"What are you talking about?" Morgan asked.

"Well, just look around you. We are surrounded by this glorious scenery with the newly fallen snow, the green pine trees, clean fresh air, and yet we wouldn't be here unless we were on this case." Rossi observed.

"Yeah, well you go on enjoying your day with nature, I just want to find what we are looking for so we can be done with all of this." Morgan vented.

"What's with you?" Rossi paused. "Don't tell me that you are still upset about Reid."

"I don't know how I feel. I mean, on the one hand I understand it, I have done deep undercover. You become someone else, you need to or you don't survive. It is about keeping secrets, even from people that you love."

"And on the other hand?" Rossi asked.

"When I got out of that assignment it took me some time to feel like I was truly myself again. But I never lost sight of who I was or where I came from." Morgan paused. "I don't know who he really is."

"Don't you?" Rossi stared at him. "Regardless of how he does his hair or what shoes he wears, he is still your friend. He wasn't faking or pretending his friendship with you, with any of us."

"How can you be so casual about all of this?" Morgan questioned. "Didn't you feel like you were lied to?"

Rossi took a step closer to him. "Look, whatever the kid's reasons were, they are his. I can accept that, can you?"

"I just need to know that the person watching my back is someone I can trust." Morgan vented.

"After all the two of you have been through you are seriously doubting his loyalty to you and this team?" Rossi stared at Morgan.

Morgan shook his head. He knew that no matter what that he was able to see past it and adjust to who his friend is. But there was still something that gnawed at him.

Rossi could see the wheels in Morgan's head turning. "It's Alex, isn't it? She's the one you don't trust."

"To be perfectly honest, no I don't." Morgan admitted. "Am I the only one who thinks that she is still playing games? Why are we trusting her? She was working with Knight, for all we know she is doing the same with Parker."

"In spite of your skepticism, we have a job to do and we're going to do it. Now let's get going before the snow comes down even harder." Rossi started back up the pathway.

"I thought you were enjoying _being one with nature_." Morgan remarked.

"Eh, well, too much of anything can be a bad thing." Rossi smirked.

* * *

Hank threw open the door as he left the back room and stepped out of the doorway. He wiped his hands with a towel then tossed it onto the ground. "I'm going for a smoke." He announced going out the front door.

Alex had been sitting on the floor with her back against the footboard of the bed with her legs stretched out in front of her. She was unable to hold herself up anymore; her head was now lying in a pool of blood.

Hank opened the door letting in Parker and followed close behind. Parker headed directly to the bedroom where Alex was passed out on the floor. He tilted his head as he looked at her then kicked her thigh to wake her up. "Are you ready to tell me what I need to hear?"

Alex looked up at her old boss standing directly over her. "I… I…" She stuttered with the stain of bloody drool on her chin.

"You what?" He was hopeful.

She mustered as much energy as she could and kicked him in the shin.

"You stupid bitch!" He yelled as he grabbed onto his leg. Parker shook off the pain then leaned down over her. "I don't care if I have to break every bone in your body. I will get what I want. I have waited years for my due and I'm not going to wait any longer."

"I have nothing to tell you." She snarled at him.

"Knight had this place custom built, he used to call it his 'Money Cabin'. I know my millions are here! And you are going to help me get it!" Parker promised.

"When are you going to get it through your fat head? I don't know where your damn money is and I've never been here before. I hope you do find it… and shove it up your ass!" Alex screamed.

Parker kicked her in the gut. Alex tried to catch her breath and coughed blood onto the ground. She gave into the pain and passed out. He turned and went back to his henchmen. "Keep working on her, we don't have much time left."

"Will do." Hank assured. "Oh, I thought you might want to keep some souvenirs." Hank pulled from his pocket an old pill bottle and handed it over to Parker.

Parker opened the bottle and emptied it. Two of Alex's bloody molars fell into his hand. "If only I could have these put on a necklace." He chuckled as he put them back in the bottle. "The next time I come out here I better have some answers."

"What about the FBI? Do they know about this place?" Hank asked.

"I don't think so, this wasn't place wasn't connected to Knight in anyway. You let me handle them, you get back to work. The sooner you find the money, the bigger bonus you will get." Parker exited the cabin where his driver was waiting keeping his SUV warm.

Hank turned to his crew and slapped his hands together. "You heard the man, lets get back to work."


	32. Chapter 32

Reid took point as he made his way through the frozen brush. He stopped to pull out a high-tech set of binoculars and slowly rotated, scanning the area.

"What kind of binoculars are those?" Hotch asked.

"They are Optima-Tech Glasses. I am able to get accurate measurements in distances and objects, as well as identify vehicles, people, and animals."

"That's pretty advanced technology." Hotch observed.

"Actually, it's pretty outdated. I didn't have time to work on getting the latest model but I guess it's better than nothing." Reid continued to observe the area.

Hotch noticed Reid studying the trees as he twisted the branches around his finger. "You know these trees could make good spring-traps if we were able to funnel our targets to a specific location."

"Hold on, Rambo. This isn't the CIA." Hotch's eyebrows furrowed. "In case you have forgotten, this is the FBI and we will conduct ourselves within the confines of our duties."

"Where is this coming from?" Reid asked.

"Just look at you. You are carrying a Glock 17 instead of your revolver as well as a smaller pistol at your ankle."

"So do you." Reid retorted.

"I am not carrying throwing knives and other pieces that are against regulation. You have enough in your own arsenal to take down a small army. I am already going against my better judgement by allowing you to continue to come on this mission. I believe that you are too emotionally involved and will act outside of FBI regulations.

"Hotch, I appreciate your responsibilities in leading this team. I promise you that I am not going rouge. I only want to get my friend." He said sincerely.

Hotch took a step closer to him. "So, does that mean you have made peace?"

"I am not sure that 'peace' is the correct word. I don't hate her, I know that much."

"I'm sure it's difficult integrating your old life with your new one. I guess you need to take it one day at a time." Hotch observed.

"You know you are the only one who hasn't talked to me about it." Reid pointed out.

"I knew you would come to me when you were ready." Hotch continued steadily up the hill.

"You haven't wanted to talk to me about anything?" Reid pushed.

Hotch stopped and turned. "What do you want me to say?" He paused. "I've read your CIA file, Reid, I know that you're a crack-shot and have mastered several different types of weaponry. I worked with you for days, invested hours into helping you train for your qualification and to find out that you could have aced that test with your eyes closed. Was all of that some big ploy? Were you creating this elaborate charade of the person we know you as?"

"No, Hotch. I would never do that."

"I understand that you weren't able to discuss your past but honestly, I don't know what to believe anymore."

"My life was filled with espionage and sanctioned killings. When Harris Knight held that gun to my partner's head, I wasn't able to pull the trigger. I had a clear line of sight, I just wasn't able to. Later, when I found them in bed together, I didn't even want to pull my gun from the holster. The BAU was the answer. We take down our enemies using our brains. Even Gideon never liked carrying a weapon. He always told me that there are better ways of accomplishing our goal than with violence. _You don't have to carry a gun to kill someone_." Reid smirked. "When I left the CIA, I never had to take any tests, all of my stats just transferred over. I didn't even have to pull my weapon for months. When I needed to actually have to test again, I froze up. I couldn't focus. I can't even explain it."

Hotch put his hand on Reid's shoulder. "What you went through would have been difficult for anyone, especially alone. You dealt with it the best way you knew how to."

Reid nodded. "Thank you."

* * *

Hank completed another arduous session, once again leaving Alex lying in her own blood on the floor. "We are in need of some more supplies." Hank looked to Jake. "You stay here and keep an eye on her, Ron and I will be back shortly."

Jake chuckled starring at their unconscious prisoner. "Don't worry, she isn't going anywhere."

Hank got into his Humvee with Ron and they took off through the woods. Jake wasted no time going to the cupboards in the kitchen. He moved the canned goods around until he reached his goal. Alex could hear the clinking of glass as Jake pulled out a bottle of Belvedere vodka and smirked as he untwisted the cap. He chugged down a few ounces directly from the bottle and wiped his face with the back of his hand. "Ah, I've needed that."

* * *

Reid made it to higher ground where he looked through his binoculars and scoped the distant woods. "I see a vehicle, looks like it could be a Jeep. Come on, we need to get moving."

"Wait, look over there!" Hotch pointed in the opposite direction.

Reid could see the narrow smoke cloud rising. "A fire?"

"Possibly from a chimney. We need to go check that out." Hotch lead the charge towards the smoke.

* * *

Jake sauntered to Alex and watched her as she slept on the floor. "Would you like a drink?" He stood over her as he asked. He then tipped the bottle over and poured the alcohol splashing over her face and into her mouth.

She coughed and gagged as she pushed herself upright. "What are you doing?"

"I thought you could use a drink." He leaned down closer to her and whispered. "It will help you to cope, more pain is coming; I can promise you that." Jake dumped more vodka on her. He put the bottle back to his mouth and drank down a few more gulps. "You know what this vodka needs? Some scotch!" He headed back toward the kitchen.

Alex became more alert as her eyes followed him leaving the room. She knew this was her only opportunity. She silently picked herself up, took a deep breath and ran for the door. Alex barely made it a few yards before tripping and landing on her face in the snow. After a brief pause she started back up again only to feel Jake's arms around her lifting her up off the ground. Alex flailed trying to break free from his grasp to no avail.

Jake threw Alex down once they got back into the cabin and he slammed the door. He pulled her up off the ground. "How stupid can you get? All of this will be over if you just tell us where the money is!"

Alex spit in his face. Jake wiped away the blood riddled saliva from his brow. "I know a way to get you to talk. He pushed her up against the couch and ripped open to the top part of her shirt. "I know you will have something to say when I am done."

Suddenly the door blew open and Jake stared at a sig sauer pointed directly at him.


	33. Chapter 33

Parker quietly approached Reid's apartment and knocked on the door even though he knew that no one would answer. He looked both ways down the hallway then let himself in.

He first checked every room to make sure that no one was there. Parker then went to work with his objective. He threw off the sofa cushions, ransacked the bedroom, turned tables and chairs upside down. "It has to be here somewhere." He continued to tear the place apart as he pulled the books from the shelves and threw them onto the floor.

He turned around gazing at the mess; that only made him more frustrated and desperate. He looked up to the top shelf of books and pulled them off and opened them searching for a secret compartment. Parker reached up for another book when he noticed that it wasn't one. He looked down at the wooden box in his hand. He shook it and could hear items rattling inside. "I found it."

Parker went to leave the apartment and knocked down table lamp just because he could. He closed the door leaving chaos behind.

* * *

Alex felt the cold air brush across her as the cabin door opened followed by the sound of a cocking handgun. She had hoped for a moment that she was saved until it became clear that things just got a whole lot worse.

"What the hell are you doing?" Hank demanded to know as he pointed his weapon at Jake.

Jake pulled his pistol from the back of his waistband and pushed it under Alex's chin. "You want her to talk. I will get her to talk. My way!"

"That's not how I work. I am running this operation, not you! Now back off!" Hank ordered.

Alex focused on Jake's eyes and have seen that look before. She knew what will happen and tried to figure out a way to not get in the crossfire.

"You know what?" Jake yelled out. "I am tired of listening to you and taking your shit! If we did this _my_ way we would have had the money by now. Instead we are wasting our time doing things your way!" Jake moved his gun from under Alex's chin and turned to point it at Hank but it was too late. Hank fired off two shots that went directly into Jake's chest.

Alex pushed herself away and rolled on the floor in front of the fireplace. Jake squeezed his trigger and a bullet went right past Alex and ricocheted off of one of the bricks then landed on the floor. She looked up and noticed the gouge in the brick from Jake's bullet. She let out a sigh of relief then began to chuckle to herself as she stared at that brick.

"I think she might be cracking." Ron whispered to Hank.

"Take our friend outside and let him cool off in the snow. We still have more work to do." Hank stepped over Jake's dead body to Alex and picked her up.

Alex wasn't sure if she should be grateful to Hank for coming in when he did. He held her up in front of him. If she didn't know any better she would think that he would apologize to her but he didn't. "Why don't you save yourself the pain of us continuing by telling me what I want to know? Where is the money?"

"Do what you want to me, you're never going to find it!" She spouted confidently.

"Well I am glad to have your permission for what we are going to do next." He escorted her to the dining table chair. Hank went to the fireplace and picked up the iron poker that had been sitting in the flames. He held up the red-hot metal and pointed it toward her. "Are you sure you don't want to reconsider telling me where the money is?"

* * *

Hotch and Reid, with their glocks in hand, steadily approached the cabin. "Wait." Reid stopped as an SUV drove up. The two men ducked down below the brush. They watched as Parker got out of the vehicle and entered into the cabin.

"We are going to need back up." Hotch announced as he pulled out his phone and dialed Garcia. "We located Parker, please let the rest of the team know. Also contact the Sheriff's office, we will need their help."

"I will turn on the Bat Signal to your coordinates. Over and out." Garcia hung up.

* * *

Parker entered the cabin and approached Alex. He placed the box he took from Reid's place down on the table in front of her. "Do you remember this?"

Alex looked down to the box then back up at him. "I have never seen that before."

"It's funny that you should say that since it was found in your personal affects at the CIA office when you were arrested. Reid said that he would keep ahold of it for you. It must have been something really important if the man you betrayed would do that for you." Parker sneered.

"Where did you get it?" Alex asked.

"Spencer gave it to me. He said that he no longer needed to hold onto it anymore."

Alex wasn't sure if she was able to believe him or not. She didn't know what was fact or fiction anymore.

"Do you know what this is?" He asked.

"It's a puzzle box. You need to solve it to be able to open it."

"You are going to do that for me." Parker smirked.

"Let's just say that I was able or willing to get this open for you. There is still a lock that you will need a key for."

"Like this?" Hank dangled the locket containing the key that was her Christmas gift.

Alex scoffed. "Do you think millions of dollars are sitting in this small box? I think your cheese has slipped off your cracker." She chuckled to herself.

"Don't make me use this." Parker held up the poker.

Alex sat up straight. "Look, that box isn't mine. That key wasn't even from Harris Knight. You are unraveling and don't even know it. You are so fixated on this money that you can't even see straight. You are getting sloppy, Parker."

"You are going to open this." He slid it to her.

"No." She slid it back.

"It wasn't a request." He grabbed the poker showing the burning red tip and held it up to her. "You are going to open it and show me what Reid has been keeping safe for all these years!"

* * *

"What is that?" Reid asked pointing to a hand sticking out of the snow alongside the cabin. He then charged down the hill toward the building.

"Reid!" Hotch quietly called out.

Reid creeped toward the body, hoping that it wasn't Alex. As he got closer, he noticed the blue-toned body of a man who was shot twice in the chest. He turned to Hotch and shook his head.

Hotch made his way through the snow down to Reid. "I am going to check out the vehicles and see if there is a back entrance. See if you can take a look inside. We need the best strategy for when everyone gets here."

Reid agreed as the two split up. He noticed a small window and after slowly pulling himself up he saw Alex tied to a chair with Parker holding a hot-poker threatening her with it. He had to refrain from breaking through the glass.

Hotch covertly approached the SUV and was unable to look through the black tinted windows. He hunched over as he put his hand on the driver's side door handle. The car door opened and hit Hotch square in the head, knocking him backwards.

Reid saw Hotch hit the ground. His eyes narrowed and focused on what needed to get done. He ducted down and scurried behind the vehicle, remaining unnoticed. He stayed crouched down as he watched.

Parker's driver stepped out of the car and stared down at Hotch's unconscious body. He noticed something under his jacket, started to unzip to reveal his FBI Kevlar vest. He was about to call out to alert everyone inside when Reid threw a knife directly into his neck. Blood poured from his mouth as he fell over.

Reid ran up alongside the vehicle to Hotch's side. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked but he didn't respond. Reid grabbed him by the shoulders and leaned him upright against the car. "Let's hope they don't come out here looking for this guy." Reid said as he focused on the cabin. "You wait here, the team will be here soon. I am going to find out what is going on inside." He tapped Hotch on the shoulder and headed up to the door.

Reid snuck up to the cabin and listened. He then heard a torturous scream coming from Alex and busted through the door.


	34. Chapter 34

Parker pushed the wooden puzzle box closer to Alex. "Hurry up and open the damn box!"

"You're wasting your time." Alex snapped. "You've become unhinged, you're crazy! This isn't going to help you find your money."

"So you _do_ know where my money is." Parker smirked. "You can tell me and get this over with. I will even let you go free. I can drop you off in Europe somewhere and you can get a fresh start." He said sweetly.

Alex glared at him. "Is your ass jealous of the amount of shit that just came out of your mouth?"

Parker's face dropped. He picked up the fire poker and thrusted it, forcing out a harrowing scream.

Reid busted through the door. "FBI!" He announced pointing his weapon at them.

Parker stood up, with the hot poker to Alex's face and backed up holding her in front of him.

Parker's two goons moved closer to Reid as he quickly picked up a lamp and threw it at Hank, knocking him over. Reid tumbled behind the sofa, pulled a blade from his ankle holster and stabbed Ron in the foot, securing him to the floor. He did a kip-up going from his back to his feet in one swift motion. He had another knife in his hand and jabbed it in Ron's chest then twisted it as he pulled it out.

Hank got up from the floor, shaking the broken lamp pieces from his body. He lifted his arm ready to shoot his weapon. Reid threw his blade landing in Hank's arm. He fired off a shot that went into the floorboard. Hank pulled the knife out from his body and charged toward Reid. He grabbed onto Hank's arm and twisted, making him to drop the blade. Hank punched him, knocking him down.

Hank jumped toward Reid who had just grabbed the broken lamp base and shoved it into Hank's abdomen. He froze looking down at the metal sticking out of his gut. He stumbled backwards a few steps then collapsed forward, forcing the lamp to go through is back. Reid picked himself up, pulled out his glock and aimed it at Parker.

He held Alex tighter in front of him with the iron poker by her cheek. "Put down the weapon, son." Parker instructed.

"I'm not your son. Reid sneered. He glanced to the table and saw the puzzle box. "What is that doing here?"

"He said you gave it to him." Alex spoke up. "He thinks it's going to help him find a large sum of money."

"That's ridiculous." Reid chortled. "Are you that desperate? You are making connections that aren't there."

"I want my money." Parker demanded with an irrational look in his eye.

"You need to let her go." Reid ordered at he held his aim.

"Or what, you're going to shoot me?" Parker snorted.

"No, I'm going to arrest you." Reid stated matter-of-factly.

"Ha! You have no jurisdiction over me." Parker spouted.

"That's where you're wrong." Hotch stood in the doorway with his glock in his hands. "Now, let her go."

Parker glanced around the cabin in a paranoid state. He then pushed Alex toward the table where she knocked everything off of it and landed on the floor. She quickly grabbed the box and locket then moved away from him.

"Elis Parker, you are under arrest for conspiracy, larceny, kidnapping a witness, interfering in a federal investigation, making a false statement, and for pissing me off." Hotch growled.

"I misjudged you, Spencer. I had high expectations for you, but instead you had to be curious like that pain-in-the-ass Charles. I should have killed you, too!" Parker snarked.

"What?" Alex questioned. " _You_ killed Charles?"

"You bastard!" Reid was furious and started toward Parker.

"Reid." Hotch called out. "I need you to get Alex out of here and get her medical attention." He ordered when he saw Reid continuing to move toward Parker.

Reid studied the burn marks on Alex's chest, her swollen face, and blood stained shirt. He took her arm and the two of them exited the cabin.

Reid slowly spun around, blankly looking at the snow-covered trees, not really knowing what to make of everything. His world was turned upside-down, again.

"What do we do now?" Alex asked as her hand pressed against her wounds on her chest.

Reid looked to her and realized that he needed to get her to a hospital. "Our vehicle is several miles away.

"We could hot-wire the Humvee." Alex suggested as she rushed toward it.

Suddenly they both looked up to the sky after hearing a familiar sound. Reid pulled Alex closer to him as they took cover next to the vehicles. A helicopter appeared and hovered over them. Reid was hesitant until he noticed that it was labeled _FBI_. He took a step out into the open and waived. Moments later a rope ladder dropped out; they both grabbed onto it and started to climb up.

Back inside the cabin, Hotch cautiously approached Parker preparing to cuff him. Parker held out his arms in front of him until Hotch got closer; he then swung his arms together and knocked Hotch across his face forcing him to stumble against the wall.

Parker started to run toward the door but Hotch tripped him. Hotch went to pick up Parker from the floor but Parker pushed back and Hotch crashed against another wall, shattering a mirror with his head. The two of them struggled until Hotch was able to have the advantage and punched him across the face; Parker stumbled backwards.

Hotch went to attack again as Parker grabbed onto him and the two landed on top of the table forcing it to break apart beneath them. Parker picked up the hot poker and started to swing at Hotch. He jumped back and then again. Hotch tumbled to the ground and picked up a broken table leg and used it to block the hot poker.

Hotch swung and knocked Parker's head so hard that he spun around then landed on the floor. Parker's vision was blurred as he looked around the cabin. He became disoriented. "How did it come to this?" He asked himself and then remembered.

*** One Year Ago ***

 _An alarm sounded as the prison gate closed. Parker entered the private visiting room to await Knight. The guard brought in the prisoner, escorted him to the chair, and removed his handcuffs._

" _You can leave us." Parker instructed._

" _You're call, Agent Lynch." The guard acknowledged and left them alone._

" _Lynch?" Knight questioned._

 _Parker held up his finger, signaling him to wait a moment. He pulled a pen from his breast pocket, twisted the cap and placed it on the table. The pen then became a signal blocker, all of the audio and video recordings were now being interrupted. "I use a pseudonym so there is no record of me coming here."_

" _Good." Knight nodded. "I wasn't expecting you so soon. It must be pretty important for you to come here personally."_

" _Yes, it is. We are going to need to move up our timeline. One of my former agents is starting to get close."_

" _So what's the plan?" Knight asked, seeking direction._

" _When the time comes, we will have you escape as planned. You will lie low, when the heat is off I will get you to Rio where we can live on the millions we've made." Parker smirked. "You are sure the money is safe?"_

" _It is at my cabin and hidden very well." Knight smirked. "However, we might have one problem."_

" _What's that?" Parker nervously questioned._

" _I think Alex knew about my plans with the cabin. I saw her poking through some of my things and the plans for the cabin were apart of them."_

" _Alex isn't going anywhere any time soon. She hasn't talked so far and knows what will happen if she decides to open up her trap." Parker scoffed._

*** Present ***

"She had to ruin everything." Parker muttered to himself as he attempted to pick himself up.

Hotch kicked Parker square in the chest, forcing him to flip over the couch and landed on the floor. His mind drifted into his memories once again. He was navigating his way through Knight's mansion in the woods right before the team found him dead.

 _Parker finally discovered Knight sitting at his grand dining room table. "So, here you are." Parker announced as he steadily approached. "You are aware that the feds are crawling all over this place and are sure to find you soon."_

" _I am prepared for that." Knight dabbed his chin with his napkin, then took a drink from his snifter._

" _You changed the plan." Parker was angry. "You just had to start killing people. You couldn't just lay low and wait, could you?"_

" _Care for a drink?" Knight offered as he lifted his glass. "You have always been too up-tight."_

" _I have always had to take care of you. I have worked really hard and you just had to go trash everything I have done. This latest mess is too much; I won't be able to clean it up this time." Parker scolded._

" _Oh, come on, here go you again, being over dramatic." Knight smirked._

" _We never should have gone into business together." Parker shook his head._

" _The only thing you love more than power is money and I made you a lot of it!" Knight took another drink._

" _We can't keep going on like this." Parker pulled out his handgun as Knight wasn't looking. He then shot his partner in his forehead. He placed his hand on Knight's lifeless shoulder then walked away._

Parker was still on the cabin floor. "I'm sorry." He whispered to himself. He opened his eyes to see Knight standing over him. "Harris?" Parker confusingly called out.

"Get up." Hotch ordered.

Parker snapped back into focus and realized that it was Hotch standing over him. He started to pull himself to his feet but kept seeing flashing images of Knight. "No." He said to himself.

"Feeling guilty?" Hotch asked. "That's usually what happens when you murder your own brother."

Parker became increasingly haunted by visions of Knight that he saw in every corner of the cabin. "I won't let you do this to me." Parker shouted to the shadows. He reached for the poker then attacked Hotch.

Hotch was able to grab ahold of the iron poker; the two of them toppled over as they wrestled. Parker reached for another broken piece of wood and struck Hotch across the face with it. He climbed off of Hotch and started toward the door.

Hotch pulled the glock 26 from his ankle holster and fired as Parker was escaping through the doorway. Three bullets entered Parker's back and he collapsed face forward into the snow. Hotch stumbled to the entrance; he stood and held his aim at Parker's motionless body.

Several SUV's pulled up with their lights flashing. "Aaron, are you okay?" Rossi asked as he stepped from the vehicle.

Hotch didn't waiver, still standing over Parker's body with his weapon in both hands.

Rossi leaned down and checked for a pulse, stood up and took a step toward his friend. "He's gone, Aaron." He helped to lower the gun.

Hotch looked around. "Where's Reid?"

Morgan came walking toward them. "Garcia said that they got a ride to the hospital."

"We should get you there, too." Rossi urged.


	35. Chapter 35

Alex pulled herself up the rope ladder and worked on opening the helicopter door hatch. She climbed aboard and helped pull in Reid.

Reid latched the door as he slid into the bucket seat. "Your timing is impeccable." Reid announced.

"I am glad I haven't lost my touch." The pilot remarked as he turned around to his passengers.

"Hugh?" Reid blurted with excitement. "What are you doing here?"

"An Agent Garcia hacked my computer and told me that you both were in trouble and needed my help." He explained.

"Why am I not surprised." Reid laughed.

"Just sit tight and we will be at the hospital soon." The helicopter took a sharp turn as it changed course.

* * *

Hugh walked down the hospital corridor toward the last room at the end of the hall where an armed guard stood outside the door.

"He's okay." Reid announced to the guard as he exited the room. "She's been hoping you would still be around. I'll be out here if you need me."

Hugh entered to see Alex cuffed to the hospital bed. "How are you doing?" He pulled up a chair next to her.

"As well as I can be, I guess. I will need to see a dentist about getting implants. But I don't see prison footing _that_ bill anytime soon." She scratched at the bandages over the burns on her chest.

Hugh stood up and grabbed her hand to stop her. "You know you shouldn't do that. You need to let them heal."

"I know." She forced a smile. "At least I am happy that I got to see you before I have to go back."

He took a seat on the foot of her bed. "I know that I was never as close with the three of you. I was always so fixated on my books and such, but we were still a family. Whenever I needed any of you, you were always there."

"Of course we were." Alex squeezed his hand.

"So, why couldn't you tell us what was going on? That you were being blackmailed."

Alex let out a sharp breath. "When we first got the Knight case and I saw that the man that I had fallen in love with was really a drug kingpin, I was so embarrassed and ashamed; I was also pissed. I confronted him that night, but he was ready for me. It was like he already knew that I figured it out. He not only threatened Spencer's life but yours and Charles', too. He was telling me things about where you lived, members of your family, intimate details about you all. He knew so much, I couldn't risk him finding out that I did tell you and have any of you getting hurt. I wouldn't be able to live with myself. So, I did everything he asked to save you all."

"Charles came to see me about two years ago. He was so sure that you would never willingly betray us and he was adamant on proving his theory. That was when he told me that he believed that Parker was in on it. Of course when I heard that I thought he was crazy. But then the more information he showed me the more that the pieces fit together. Charles then told me that I needed to stay out of it."

"Why?" Alex questioned.

"It became clear that Parker was involved and if he discovered that we were looking into him that would be dangerous. Charles insisted that I keep my family safe."

Alex smiled. "Yes, that was Charles. Protective to a fault."

"That's why he didn't tell Spencer, either." Hugh said.

"Reid could handle himself against Parker, especially with the BAU by his side." Alex was confused.

"He was protecting him from you." Hugh pointed out.

"From me?"

"More like, the thought of you. Charles could not tell Spencer that you were innocent unless he had absolute proof. We couldn't risk his heart being broken again." Hugh told the painful truth.

Alex dropped eye contact then turned to look at the small dresser by the window.

Hugh looked to the dresser and noticed the wooden puzzle box that was placed there. "Oh, wow." He got up to retrieve it then sat back on the bed with the box in his hand. "Did Spencer tell you about this box?"

Alex sat up as well as she could. "No, he didn't."

"Spencer picked up this box when we were in Morocco on that satellite encryption-key case and wanted to give it to you. He decided to do it to you when the timing was right. I know he gave you the key for Christmas, I don't know when he planned on giving you the box."

Alex pulled the locket from around her neck and studied it. "It was the best Christmas gift I ever received and I honestly didn't even think it opened anything."

"After you were _kidnapped_ by Knight, he placed the box in your desk for you to open when you returned."

"That's why Parker thought it was mine." Alex realized. "But what I don't understand is why Spencer still had it this whole time."

"I couldn't allow myself to get rid of it." Reid admitted as he stood in the doorway. He took a few steps in and approached the hospital bed. "I don't know what all the fuss is about. We should get it open now."

Hugh quickly solved the puzzle then used the key Alex handed him to unlock it. The three of them hovered over the box as it opened. They were flooded with memories as they examined the stack of pictures. The first one was of the four of them smiling and holding onto each other.

Alex rubbed her fingertip over Charles' face. "He was such a wonderful person." She then couldn't help but snicker. "Remember when he snuck into that hotel room and was hiding in the closet then started sneezing?"

Reid laughed. "And the guy was so drunk that he said _bless you_." They all shared in the laughter as they flipped through the pictures.

"What's this?" Hugh pulled out a stack of postcards secured by a rubber band.

"I collected one from every place we went." Reid pulled them out and showed that there were dates written on the back from when they were at each city.

Alex dug through the box of trinkets when something caught her eye. She pulled out the diamond ring that Reid had once offered her. "I can't believe you still have this."

"A part of me held onto hope that you could never betray us like that." Reid said solemnly.

"I am so sorry that I put you all through that." Alex was guilt-ridden.

Reid took her hand. "Don't worry, now we have time to catch up."

"I don't know how long we have." She shook the handcuff.

Hugh turned to Reid. "Does she really have to go back to prison? Is there anything you can do?"

"Let me make a call." Reid pulled out his phone and went to step out of the room. "Hey Hotch."


	36. Chapter 36

Garcia entered the bullpen, glanced at Morgan's empty chair then turned to Prentiss. "Where'd he go? I thought we were all going to be here for when Reid came in today."

"Oh." She looked up to her friend then turned facing toward the conference room. "He's been in there."

"Doing what?"

"Thinking?" Prentiss guessed.

"Knock-knock." Garcia stated as she stood outside the conference room door.

"Hey girl, what you doing out of your cave?" Morgan forced a smile.

"I just came to check on you." She took a few steps closer to him as he sat on the edge of the table holding paperwork in his hands. "Is everything alright? Do we have a new case?"

"No, I was just skimming over a few things." Morgan tried to brush it off.

Garcia moved in closer. "Come on, I know something is bothering you; spill it."

"What would you do if you were in that situation?" Morgan asked.

"What situation?"

"What if you were forced to work with the enemy or they would hurt or kill the people that you loved?"

"You know, I was asked recently _If I could do anything to keep my family safe, even if it meant breaking procedure, would I do it?_ And you know what I said? 'Yes', without hesitation. People do crazy things when they are in love, even crazier things for the people that they love." Garcia pushed on his arm with her fist. "So, you have to ask yourself, tough guy, what would you do?"

"Are we interrupting?" Prentiss asked as she leaned into the room with JJ right behind her. "Because we're coming in anyway."

JJ came in with a tray of cupcakes and placed them on the table.

Morgan went to reach for one as JJ smacked his hand. "Ouch, what was that for?"

"We're waiting for Reid."

"JJ." Hotch called out as he stood in the doorway. "Did you make that phone call?"

"Yes, he said he would be here at eleven this morning." She replied.

Hotch turned to go back to his office.

"What call?" Garcia asked as the team looked to her for answers.

"I'm sorry, I am really not at liberty to talk about it." JJ shrugged.

"Did Reid really go all _ninja-style_ when he was at the cabin?" Garcia asked.

Prentiss smirked. "That's what I hear. I mean, we found those guys with stab wounds from his throwing knives apparently. I can only imagine what happened in there. I guess we will need to ask him for ourselves."

"Now's our chance." JJ said as she looked down to the bullpen to see Rossi escorting Reid and Alex into the BAU.

Alex pulled on Reid's arm. "I don't think I should. Your team doesn't like me. I don't want to make things uncomfortable for them."

"They don't even know you." He paused. "At least the real you." Reid justified.

"You have nothing to be afraid of." Rossi leaned closer to her. "I promise."

To say the team was uncomfortable would be an understatement. They knew what had transpired, and why she did what she did, but it was a big change from them to go from working with the enemy to now getting to know her as Reid's old partner and friend. Then there is the point of getting to know Reid… the real Reid.

He entered the conference room and raised his hand as he gave a closed-mouth smile.

Garcia broke the tension by giving him a hug. "I am so happy that you're okay." She stared at the bruises on his face.

"Don't worry, I am fine." He tried to reassure her.

"Hey, Kid, can I talk with you for a sec?" Morgan asked, pulling him into the corner of the room. "I just wanted to tell you that I am sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Reid asked.

"Sorry that I couldn't just give you the benefit of the doubt. I can't even begin to count all the times you have been there for me. I actually lost faith in you, in our friendship. That wasn't fair to you. And I wanted you to know that no matter who you are, weather it will be a sweater vest, or expensive Italian shoes, that you will always be Pretty Boy to me." He smirked.

"Thank you, Morgan that means a lot." The friends hugged each other. Reid pulled away and looked to the others just as Hotch entered the room. "I just wanted to tell you all that when I first joined the BAU I wanted to distance myself from everything that reminded me of my time at the CIA and the people in it." He looked to Alex. "I can understand how you all must feel and wondering who I really am. I might have changed some idiosyncrasies about myself, but they were all still me. I may have come across more naïve than I really am but I want you all to know that I never intended to lie to any of you or pretend to be someone I am not. Because to me, I have always been the Reid you know now just hiding behind the more outgoing one that I used to be."

Morgan turned to Alex who was hiding towards the back, feeling a bit out of place. "I was wrong about you. I wanted you to know that I am sorry that I misjudged you." He held out his hand to shake hers.

Rossi leaned over to her. "See, I told you that everything would work out."

Alex couldn't help but give Rossi a hug.

"Did you ever locate the money that Parker was obsessed with finding?" Prentiss asked Reid.

Alex let out a small snort.

Reid looked to her. "You know where it is, don't you?"

"I didn't at first, but then I figured it out." She chuckled. "It was right in front of him the entire time." The team stared at her, anxiously awaiting the answer. "It's the fireplace."

"You mean behind it?" Reid asked, remembering the grand fireplace as the focal point of the room.

Alex shook her head. "It _was_ the fireplace. Remember when I told you that Jake started shooting at Hank but the bullet ricocheted? Well it actually nicked one of the bricks. I was on the ground, trying to take cover. I looked up to see that a piece of the brick was gone and I saw the gold underneath it. He must have coated the gold bars in a concrete mixture and then used those to build the fireplace. It was ingenious."

"That is crazy brilliant." Reid remarked.

The group talked amongst each other now that they figured out that piece of the puzzle.

Alex pulled Reid aside. "You know, we should probably just say our goodbyes now. I am sure that my armed escort will be here shortly to take me back to prison."

Garcia turned to Hotch. "Is there anything we can do?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't get to make those kinds of decisions. There might have to be a new trial; a judge will need to make a ruling." Hotch tried to explain.

"It's okay, it really is. I am just grateful that I was able to explain some things to Spencer after all this time." Alex then turned to the team. "And that I got to meet all of you, too. I appreciate that you came to get me in spite of everything."

"Hotch, come on man." Morgan started. "We can't let an innocent woman go back to prison."

"That's not up to me." He looked to the towering man who just entered the bullpen wearing a sharp beige suit. "It's up to him."

The team watched as he made his way up the stairs and towards the conference room. With a raspy voice he held out his hand. "SSA Hotchner, good to see you again."

"You too." Hotch smiled then turned to the team. "This is John McIntyre, part of the Oversight Committee."

They nervously stood in anticipation for the reason of his visit.

McIntyre placed his briefcase on the table and started to pull out several files. "After my office received a call from Agent Hotchner advising us to look into Deputy Director Elis Parker, we found that he was in bed with several dangerous and illegal organizations. We also looked back into his connection with Harris Knight and discovered that they were brothers, thanks to Agent Hotchner. We uncovered their laundering operation on top of their fraudulent empires and drug money. We were able to locate records and information, as well as several video recordings." He turned to Alex. "After examining all of this evidence, the Committee has found that you were not responsible for the charges that were first made against you. I have here, an acquittal signed by the judge. Congratulations, you are a free woman."

Alex stood there in shock. "I can't believe it. This has to be some kind of joke."

"I assure you that this isn't a joke." McIntyre smirked. "Also, to let you know that you are welcome to come back to the CIA if you wish."

"Thank you, sir." She shook his hand. "I will be sure to give the matter some thought."

Everyone took their turns giving Alex hugs and celebrated her new found freedom.

"I think now is a good time to break open the cupcakes." Garcia snickered as she started to hand them out to the team.

Reid took Alex's hand and the two left the room and walked down the corridor alone. "So, what are you going to do now?" He asked.

"I honestly don't know. I never thought for a moment that I would ever be able to breathe again." She stopped walking and faced her dear friend. "I must admit that I am scared. I don't know where to go from here."

"Garcia has taken it upon herself to educate me in the fine art of _chick flicks_." Reid mentioned.

"Okay." Alex tried to see where he was going with this story.

"There was an ending quote in the movie _Uptown Girls_ that I think will apply to your situation. _Every story has an end. But in life, every ending is just a new beginning._ Enjoy your new beginning, Alex."

* * *

 **Stay Tuned:**

 _I am planning a sequel to this story… I am not sure when, but it is in the works. You can follow me to get that update. I will also post onto this story when I post the sequel… which will have a different title._

 _In the meantime, you can check out my new one: Ghosts of Rossi's Past. It is a mystery and all of the main characters will be featured. (Yes, Reid will be a major part.)  
_

 _Also, I have a Star Trek story, Distress, based off of the new movie characters. You do not have to be a huge fan to enjoy it._

 **Acknowledgements:**

 _This wouldn't have been possible without a request from_ _Annajadekin_ _to write a story about Reid previously being in the CIA. The thought intrigued me so much I just had to explore it. And I love what came from just that little spark. Thank you all for reading, commenting, and being there with me on this interesting adventure!_

 _I have to thank my friend Jasmine for helping me to find inspiration and to allow me bounce ideas off of her. She has helped me when I have written myself into a corner._

 _Extra Special Thanks to my friend Cindy! She has been there for me through the worst and has always brightened my day! She has helped me when I had writer's block, helped me hash ideas through, helped with plot points, and gave me encouragement. I couldn't ask for better support!_


	37. Chapter 37

Coming soon: _**Trouble in Paradise**_

The Caribbean. Immaculate beaches with white sand and clear waters, gorgeous weather, luxury resorts, fishing, snorkeling, and relaxing in the shade with frozen drinks in hand. An ideal place for a perfect, tranquil vacation. Which is why Reid and Alex invited the BAU to join them on a remote island paradise for a little rest and relaxation. What could possibly go wrong?


	38. Chapter 38

Hello everyone! The time has come. The sequel has been posted entitled: _**Trouble in Paradise**_

Please enjoy the following teaser…

* * *

Alex worked on removing one of her earrings then placed it on the nightstand. She glanced across their hotel room bed to watch Hotch as he loosened his tie.

Suddenly there were four knocks on the sliding door of their hotel balcony. Hotch furrowed his eyebrows as he carefully approached.

Alex finished removing her other earring and let out a chuckle. "It's just Spencer."

Hotch turned back to her, "but we are on the fifth floor."

"That hasn't stopped him before," Alex snickered.

Hotch pulled back the curtains revealing Reid sitting on the balcony with his feet up. He then unlatched the door and slid it open.

"It took you long enough," Reid got up, came into the room and noticed that Alex had let her hair down. "I hope I am not interrupting something." He turned back to Hotch and gave a wink.

"No you haven't," Hotch was noticeably irked.

"Good." Reid smiled then plopped onto the middle of the king size bed and picked up the remote. "What do you say to a movie?"

"Reid!" Hotch was not amused.

Alex sat on the edge of the bed and turned to her friend. "I think you better explain why you're here before Aaron throws you out the window."

"He wouldn't do that," Reid chortled.

Hotch crossed his arms across his chest.

"Then again, he has been doing a lot of things lately that I never thought he would." Reid smirked at Alex. "Okay, truce." Reid held up his hands in front of him. "I came to give you both an update. We're in trouble."

* * *

As always, I thank you for reading and sharing your reviews. I hope you enjoy this new adventure.


	39. Chapter 39

Hey everyone!

I received a message that I was nominated for Best Characterization of Spencer Reid for The Enemy of my Enemy. If you would like to vote for me (and your other favorites) please head over to the link below to cast your vote. I believe it ends on February 28th. Thanks again for reading!

forum/Profiler-s-Choice-Awards-2016/197180/


	40. The Story Continues

_The story continues..._

Coming soon: **He Returned to Killarney**

Years have passed since Spencer Reid was on the CIA's payroll, but the rise of a new ruthless crime lord changes everything. Can the CIA, with the help of the BAU and Interpol help their friend find the answers before more people die?


	41. The Story Continues sneak peek

**He Returned to Killarney has been posted.**

s/12527176/1/He-Returned-to-Killarney

 _ **Sneak Peek:**_

Reid took a long walk back to his flat, even longer than what it should have taken him. He went up and down roads and back again. He finally made it to his door but didn't feel any better about what he had done. The rage grew inside of him and he couldn't stand it anymore. He ran toward his wall and smashed his hand right through it.


End file.
